Kacy's Musings

Day 3

2010-04-07T21:34:00.001-05:00

FOR TODAY

Outside my window… rain

I am thinking… that I got quite a bit done today

I am wearing… my PJs

I am creating… more mess

I am going… to play with Mouse for a while

I am reading… still reading An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by PD James

I am hoping… for some sunshine tomorrow

I am hearing… a great song, Shelter by Lone Justice

Around the house… more piles but I’m making progress

One of my favorite things… the playlist I’m listening to

A few plans for the rest of the week… more cleaning and if I make enough progress organizing I'll get to make some art this weekend

No pictures today, didn’t take a break from cleaning

Day #2

2010-04-06T21:02:00.002-05:00

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... kids playing at recess

I am thinking... that I don’t want to think any more today

I am thankful for... my parents help with the cleaning today

I am wearing... shorts and a t-shirt

I am creating... a big mess!

I am going... off to the shower, I'm sweaty and smell bad

I am reading... An Unsuitable Job for a Woman by PD James

I am hoping... to get done with everything I need to finish by Thursday

I am hearing... my audiobook and Pima doing her momma cat routine with her stuffed toy

Around the house... piles being sorted

One of my favorite things... a cuddle with my big, sweet puppy

A few plans for the rest of the week… catch up!!

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… pretend you see the picture of daffodils I took earlier but can’t get loaded.

Simple Woman's Daybook

2010-04-05T11:36:00.005-05:00

I came across this project on a few blogs I read and thought it would be a good way for me to focus and revive my blog. It is called the Simple Woman's Daybook.

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... sunshine, puffy clouds and blue sky

I am thinking... about my friend and the decision she has to make this week

I am thankful for... my health insurance, what would I do without it

I am wearing... 1 size smaller pants than I wore 1 month ago

I am creating... assemblages in my head

I am going... to take things one day at a time

I am reading... Butchers Hill by Laura Lippman

I am hoping... to do this list for one month

I am hearing... monthly city emergency siren checks

Around the house... art supplies needing a permanent home and calling to be used.

One of my favorite things... waking up to two furry faces telling me it’s time for breakfast

A few plans for the rest of the week… get my taxes submitted, work on Spring cleaning, Rally-O class with mom and Gabby

Here is picture for thought I am sharing… toes are ready for sandals

Another sad day

2009-08-17T12:14:00.004-05:00

The last post to this blog was about loosing our sweet Daisy. Now we've lost our Daphne. It is so hard. No more greetings at the door, tails wagging with smiles full of unconditional love. Dogs mean different things to different people. In my family they were one of us, my canine siblings. So much love was received from them and so much given back to them. They didn't ask for much, just food, water and to be with you. It was so easy to give it to them. They gave us so much more. They filled our lives with love, companionship, smiles, a sweet face that would melt your heart, a devil dog that would make you laugh and big, warm bodies to hug. Truly gentle giants, these dogs called Mastiff. If one of them felt a threat they would subtly put their body in front of you to make sure you were safe. My heart hurts but I know they are together now taking care of each other and our 4-legged friends that went before. They are both free of pain, able to run and play and are waiting for us until it is our time to join them. Be at peace sweet girls. We love you.

Such a sad day.

2009-02-15T11:18:00.004-06:00

Kacy's Daisy Belle

4/30/00 - 2/14/09

You were so greatly loved and will be so terribly missed.

We had to say goodbye to our sweet Daisy yesterday. It was time and the right decision but so very hard. The tears keep coming.

2008-11-05T12:51:00.003-06:00

It's been a long time coming,
but tonight,
because of what we did on this date
in this election
at this defining moment,
change has come to America.

BARACK OBAMA

2008-10-15T11:08:00.004-05:00

Thanks to the Happy Zombie for this button.

Crusade 21 - Irresistible

2008-07-05T21:25:00.003-05:00

My first attempt at posting for one of Michelle Ward's Crusades. This one is called Irresistible - make wax rubbings.

Tools: paper, crayons and rubbing templates.

Rubbing with black crayon.

For this one I used a 12 x 12 scrapbooking template.

Colored with acrylic paint.

Here are my first attempts.

The Painted Page part 3 - my new designer jeans!

2008-05-30T11:48:00.008-05:00

One of my favorite parts of the workshop was Michelle spray painting a pair of my jeans. They ROCK!!!!

Michelle painting my jeans.

Michelle and I with my awesome Michelle Ward original jeans. Michelle's jeans ROCK too. (Her finger is black because I kept missing the paper when she was helping me with the spray paint. Did I mention that she's a good sport?)

The Class

Check out Michelle's blog for her post about the workshop. My jeans and I made her blog (my hands did too).

Thanks to Kathy and Bill for another fantastic weekend at Valley Ridge Art Studio. I met some wonderful people, learned a lot, listened to some fab music, had some great food, enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere, came home with my head full of ideas and the coolest pair of jeans!!!

This is just a little part of the great view from the Studio.

Did I tell you I love my jeans?!!

The Painted Page Day 2

2008-05-30T11:46:00.004-05:00

Day 2 was spent working with materials that Michelle provided to start putting content on our pages. She also gave us a demonstration on using spray paint and stencils. We were able to spray paint some of our pages. I immediately bought some spray paint when I returned home and have been practicing. You can see all of my pages on my flickr site including pages I've done since I returned home.

Here are some examples of my work from Day 2.

Painted Page (aka A Trip To Valley Ridge) Day 1

2008-05-30T11:17:00.006-05:00

I was very fortunate to be able to take a workshop called The Painted Page given by Michelle Ward at Valley Ridge Art Studio (thankfully someone cancelled and I was able to get in). We worked on painting pages for a visual journal. Day 1 was techniques to get some color down on the page. Michelle is a great instructor and had a wonderfull handout prepared. It has really helped me a home as I continue to work on my pages. You can see all of my pages on my flickr site.

Here are a couple of samples from my pages on Day 1.

Great song!

2008-05-06T08:26:00.001-05:00

I just love this song.

MIA

2008-04-13T12:21:00.000-05:00

Sorry I've been missing in action for a while. I've been having some health issues. I'm on the mend and hope to be back to blogging soon. Hope all is well with my blogging friends.

Deco Book #2

2008-02-24T09:48:00.002-06:00

These pages are for the second deco book I received. The pages measure 2 5/8 x 2 7/8 inches. I used another background made with acrylic glazes and stamping. I painted the branch and leaves. Stamped the bird (Memory Box) on a page from a Korean book and colored it in with layers of fluid acrylics so the text shows through. The bird was cut out and glued on the page with gel medium. I stamped the Asian symbol (Hero Arts) for Sky. The egdes are done with oil pastels.

For the back page I stamped and embossed the symbol for Destiny (Stampabilities).

It feels calm and serene to me which I'm needing right now.

Deco Pages

2008-02-17T22:34:00.004-06:00

These are pages I made for a deco book round robin. This is my first deco book and I was the first person to add to this book so I was a little nervous. I used one of my painted background pages.

I hope she likes them.

More Background Fun

2008-02-15T10:44:00.004-06:00

I've been making more pages. I plan on using these for pages in a book I want to make.

The first two are actually front and back of one piece of paper. I just used a piece of plain, white paper from my printer.

Side 1: I stamped with a script stamp and my new favorite stamp (Stampabilities Crackle Berry F1141). I love the way this stamp looks and have been using it on everything. I even bought a second one because I've been using the first one with paint and wanted to keep one decent to use with ink. Anyway, after stamping I painted over it with acrylic glazes made using Satin Glazing Medium with Quinacrodone Magenta, Quinacrodone Nickel Azo Gold and Quinacrodone Burnt Orange. These are my three favorite colors at the moment. Each glaze was painted on and allowed to dry before the next layer was added. I used paint rollers I bought from Dick Blick to apply the glazes. My local Dick Blick store doesn't have the rollers so I ordered them on-line. The regular foam rollers from the craft store didn't work as well and fell apart fast. The corners were taped down with painters masking tape to hold the paper in place for the first coat of glaze that is why they are a different color. I just tape the paper to my table which is covered with a plastic table cloth that way I can paint over the edges of the paper to get good coverage for the entire sheet. (One of these days I'll have to post a picture of my table cloth. It is georgeous and changes every time I paint.)

Side 2: I painted over a stencil with gesso. I absolutely LOVE this stencil. I bought it a one of my local scrapbook stores in two different sizes, this is the large size. It is made by
TheCraftersWorkshop.com, the name for this size is Botanicals and the smaller one is Mini-Botanicals. Then I glazed over it with glazes using Quinacrodone Nickel Azo Gold and Quinacrodone Burnt Orange. I really love this one. It is very subtle and the color is awesome. I'll have a hard time covering it up.

This is one of my "waste" sheets. I always have one on my table to use up extra paint and clean off rollers, brushes and stamps. I stop when I decide I love it. If I don't love it then I keep adding to it. This one probably has 10-12 layers. These are becoming some of my favorite pages.

Chipboard Swap

2008-02-14T11:13:00.002-06:00

These ATCs were made for a swap. We had to use chipboard. I thought the theme was appropriate for this time of year. The background is made with tissue paper, then glazed with acrylic paint and stamped. The chipboard hearts were colored with distress ink and then embossed with clear EP.

Simply Enjoy

2008-02-06T11:10:00.000-06:00

This is another canvas that I had started with a tissue paper background and painted. I added peeling paper to the bottom third and painted it. The image is from Art Chix and the saying is from Lisa's Altered Art. I need to add something else. I just haven't found the right thing yet. Any suggestions?

(Thanks Aimeslee for fixing my bad picture.)

2x2 Canvas

2008-02-06T11:00:00.000-06:00

These are a couple of 2x2 canvases I did for a "Square" Swap. The backgrounds are done with layers of glazes. I thought they were sweet and fun to do.

The Big 7-0!!!

2008-02-06T10:20:00.000-06:00

At my weigh in this week I hit 70 pounds lost! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. I'm actually looking forward to Spring and Summer this year. I get a whole new wardrobe.

Mouse was pretty excited about it too!

New Years Resolution Swap

2008-02-06T09:43:00.000-06:00

We did a swap on one of my groups that required using one of our resolutions. I chose my resolution to finish some of the projects I'd started. I've been working on background papers since taking some workshops last year at Valley Ridge Art Studio. One was with Traci Bautista (Collage Unleashed: Butterfly Flower Graffiti Journal) and another was with Robin Atkins (Acrylic Painting ~ Deluxe Decorative Papers!). The background I used for these ATCs was done for a chunky book swap. I made extra to use in other projects. I pulled it out and cut it up. A portion of the background is shown below the ATCs. I really liked how this turned out and didn't want to cover it up too much.

Images are pieced together from collage sheets I got from Teesha Moore and Lisa's Altered Arts.

Coffee Tags Step 2 - Add color DYE INK

2008-02-06T09:40:00.001-06:00

The color was added to these with dye inks. I used Distress Inks.

Coffee Tags Step 2 - Add color MARBELING

2008-02-06T09:38:00.000-06:00

We used the shaving cream marbeling technique for these. I really like how they turned out.

Coffee Tags Step 2 - Add color ACRYLIC WASH

2008-02-06T09:37:00.001-06:00

These tags were done with a wash of watered down acrylic paint.

Coffee Tags Step 2 - Add color WATERCOLOR

2008-02-06T09:28:00.000-06:00

We used four different methods to add color to our tags. The first was watercolor. I had some liquid watercolors in spray bottles so I used them for these tags.

Note: Tag on top Left - I added some stamping over the top of the coffee and color.

Coffee Tags Step 1

2008-02-06T09:13:00.000-06:00

These were done for an on-line workshop by one of the Yahoo Groups I belong to. The first step was to use coffee to stain the tags. I used cups or bottles to make the circles. The spots are done by putting instant coffee grounds on the tags and dropping water on the grounds. I also tried painting the coffee on, sponging a little and even brushing it on.

Meet the Art Fairy

2008-02-05T14:20:00.001-06:00

I finished one of my unfinished canvases. Images are pieced together from collage sheets I got from Teesha Moore and Lisa's Altered Arts.

Paint Scraping Background

2008-02-05T14:08:00.000-06:00

Another technique from Trish. See her blog for instructions and a lot of other great ideas.

I used three colors of acrylic paint on cardstock.

I took it a little further and used a number stencil to add some interest.

Then I glazed over the top with a magenta glaze.

Glue Backgrounds

2008-02-05T14:00:00.000-06:00

Trish has been posting background techniques for us to try. These are my Glue Backgrounds.

Glue painted on cardstock with a credit card, textured then left to dry. I used chalk inks to add color.

I used sequins waste (punchinella) as a stencil to put the glue on these sheets. Then let dry and added color with chalk inks. Have I told you I'm addicted to sequins waste?

I used a piece of a non-skid mat (the kind that you put under rugs) to make the pattern on these . The glue was a little runny so I didn't get good texture. Again I used chalk inks to add color.

I drew lines and wrote words on these (in case it isn't obvious) and after they were dry added color with chalk inks.

Plastic Wrap Crinkle

2008-01-25T19:35:00.000-06:00

Another technique from Collage Discovery Workshop-Expect the Unexptected by Claudine Hellmuth. This one is the Plastic Wrap Crinkle technique. Done on canvas pad with acrylic paints. I used Golden's paints for these samples but you can use what you have handy.

I used two colors of watered down paint (consistency of watercolor) in puddles, mixing the two colors in spots. Then put a piece of plastic wrap over the paint and smooshed it around with my fingers. This one has to be set aside to dry. If you use the heat gun you'll melt the plastic wrap. When dry remove the plastic.

Elmers Glue Crackle Backgrounds

2008-01-25T19:16:00.001-06:00

I pulled out Collage Discovery Workshop-Expect the Unexptected by Claudine Hellmuth and decided to work through the techniques. These are the results from the first texture technique called Elmers Glue Crackle. They are done on 1/4 sheets of canvas pad. I used Golden's acrylic paint for these. Try it with what background and paints you have handy.

Sample 1 - Small Crackle (using heavy body acrylics)
For the top one I started with a base color of magenta, the bottom one did not have a base color. I spread glue over the entire sheet using my fingers. I had a fairly thin coat of glue on these. With the glue still wet I put use another color of paint that had been slightly watered down. Brush in differnt directions for more interest. Dry with heat gun or leave it to dry.

Sample 2 - Big Crackle (used fluid acrylic paint)

These did not have a base color. For interest on the bottom one I put down a dictionary page with gel medium and then a layer of gel medium over the page and let it dry. I put a thick layer of glue over the whole sheet. Then I put drops of fluid acrylic over the wet glue and brushed it out. Dry with a heat gun or air dry.

Sample 3 - Big Crackle (fluid acrylic paints)

These two are the same steps as Sample 2 but I started with a base color.

Art Quest Challenge #1

2008-01-18T15:00:00.000-06:00

Trish started an altered book challenge she's calling the Art-Quest Challenge. This is the background for the Three Steps Texture Challenge. I used tissue paper for texture, matte medium for adhesive and two different colors of acrylic paint mixed with glaze medium. I've been playing with the glazes a little and really like the way they look. I used Golden's Cobalt Teal and Quinacridone Magenta for this and Satin Acrylic Glazing Liquid. Now to decide how to finish the spread.

2008 New Year's Resolutions - Artistic Endeavors

2007-12-31T19:00:00.000-06:00

Here is my list for 2008

Finish some unfinished projects. Like these:

Take more classes at Valley Ridge (or better yet win the lottery and take ALL the classes at Valley Ridge). Specifically these:

DJ Pettitt
DJ Pettitt
Beryl Taylor
Nina Bagley
Keep the blog updated and post more projects. Work on my writing.

Organize supplies and space.

Pick a couple of my Yahoo Groups and become a more active, regular participant.

Try to use more embellishments and make things that aren't always "flat".

2007 New Year's Resolutions - A Year-End Report

2007-12-21T12:02:00.000-06:00

These were my artistic resolutions for 2007 and how I did.

Try a new technique at least once per month.
I learned so much this year. See below about taking classes.

Swap with new groups.
I wanted to try some different types of art and branch out to more mixed media and not so much stamping. I was able to do this and am learning a lot about all kinds of art. Now I have to reign it in a little and figure out where I belong and focus this year. This means choosing a couple of groups and being a more active participant in them. I'll have to learn to let go of a few things.

Take some classes (if I can find them).
This was a great year for classes. I found Valley Ridge Art Studio and had a blast!! It is located in beautiful, scenic Wisconsin. Kathy and Bill are wonderful hosts and the instructors and other participants are full of energy and creativity.

I took workshops from Traci Bautista and Robin Atkins. Traci's workshop was Collage Unleashed: Butterfly Flower Graffiti Journal. I ended up taking two workshops from Robin. The first was Acrylic Painting ~ Deluxe Decorative Papers! and then I was having so much fun that I stayed on for the Improvisational Bead Embroidery workshop. It was a great time. (If you're wandering where I am in the pictures, I'm the chubby one called Kelley. I won't be the chubby one in next year's pictures!!!)

Then in October I went to Art and Soul in Portland. I took classes from Misty Mawn, Claudine Hellmuth, Ann Baldwin and Lesley Riley. I was surrounded by wonderful, inspiring people and learned so much. It was a fantastic trip and I'd love to do it every year.

Push myself to try things that scare me (it’s ok to fail as long as I try). I have been pushing myself, now the struggle is to find where I belong in the art world and what my voice is.

Get some art on my walls at home and at work!! I didn't do to well with getting my own art up. I seem to send it all away in swaps but I bought some great art this year from these artists:

Pay it Forward

2007-12-19T19:05:00.000-06:00

I'm going to keep bumping this to the top of the blog until 3 people comment. So if you're tired of seeing it please leave a comment and I'll send you something.

I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow, or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. So basically, if you comment and you’re on, I’ll send you something crafty that I’ll make!Once you sign up, copy and paste the above paragraph on your blog, and three other lucky people will be recipients of your handmade work.

I'm getting paid forward by Adrienne Goodenough and thought it would be fun to pay it forward to you. I will check my blog daily to see who the first three sign ups are, and if they've joined this Pay It Forward exchange, they will be the recipients from me. Make sure to leave your blog address with your message, so I can check your blog.

Holiday with the Hounds

2007-12-18T12:56:00.000-06:00

This is what I did for two hours last night. Not a bad way to volunteer. It was the annual Holiday with the Hounds at our local animal shelter. My mom and I were assigned to hang out with the litter of six puppies. We had a great time. The puppies are two months old and just as cute as can be. Everyone got to come by and say hello and pet the puppies. We were assigned to make sure they got out for potty breaks, clean up any messes and PLAY!!!

Art and Soul - Part 1

2007-12-07T06:45:00.000-06:00

I'm very slow in getting this posted but better late than never as they say. Art and Soul was a blast. The classes were great, the people wonderful, hung out with family that we don't get to see very often and ate too much.

I didn't have classes the first day so after checking in at registration we went off to Latitudes for a quick visit with cousins Larie, Dick and Chaucer. Then after setting up our plans for dinner we headed up the Columbia River Gorge. It is such a beautiful trip. We stopped for a while at Multnomah Falls for some great scenery and a photo op. Then back to Portland for dinner with Larie and Dick and called it a night.

Classes

I headed over to the Embassy Suites for class on Friday morning and the first person I saw was Adrienne from CCSwaps. She was standing outside the hotel waiting for the shuttle. We just had a minute for a quick hello but I was so glad I found her without even trying. I was afraid I'd have trouble finding her. She came over from Wales to spend the week at Art and Soul and then head to Wisconsin to visit. Check out her blog for the great information on her classes at Art and Soul.

My first class was "Altered Ego" taught by Misty Mawn. We used self-portraits in our collages. I think the biggest problem everyone had was that they didn't like taking pictures of themselves or getting pictures taken. I messed up my face (I'm not a painter) but Misty fixed it for me so now it looks nice. She recommended that we use faces from magazines for practice. I'm so in awe of Misty's talent. Her demos made it look so easy. She kept telling us it took years for her to get to this point in her art and we should just keep working at it. These are some of the things I worked on:

My face (messed up by me, fixed by Misty)

My second class was with Claudine Hellmuth. The class was called Magazine Alterology. We used Citra-Solv (the concentrated version, not the diluted one in the spray bottle) and NevrDull to alter magazine pages and then used them in collages. These are the collages I did.

(Background using Citra-Solv)

(Background and figure using NevrDull)

Catching up

2007-12-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

Here are some things I've made but haven't posted to the blog.

Skinny Pages (4x8 inches)

Abstract

Color

Zettiology

A little Holiday Cheer

2007-12-01T11:15:00.000-06:00

Click here for a little holiday cheer from Daphne.

Lisa Vollrath's Countdown to Christmas

2007-12-01T10:56:00.000-06:00

Lisa is doing it again. She's counting down to the holiday with free images every day. Check it out!

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

I'm back and I've been tagged!

2007-11-01T12:24:00.000-05:00

I'm back from the deep, non-blogging void. Life has been hectic and I haven't made time to post. I've been tagged by Aimeslee and so she doesn't think I fell off the face of the earth I'm checking in with the blog.

Here are the rules for the tag:

Link to the person that tagged you (Aimeslee) and post these rules on your blog before you answer. (DONE)
Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself (on your blog, we all want to know them). (DONE)

Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs. (But don't tag me back). (Everyone I went to tag had already been tagged so I'm breaking this rule.)
Let each person know that they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. (See #3)

Here goes...

I recently hit the big 5-0... POUNDS LOST. I'm actually at 56.2 lbs lost as of my most recent weigh in.
I have a thing for shoes. I recently bought these (I love, love, love them) and these (in the blue suede, don't step on them). I really want these, maybe for Christmas.
I miss Peanut Butter M&M's. I've had one, and I mean one lonely M&M, in the last 6 months. I'm sure they're feeling the loss of income. But if you refer back to item #1 you'll know why.
Somehow I've become a morning person. I've been getting up at 4:45 AM to exercise. How much does that suck? Now I seem to have all my energy in the morning. Even on the weekends and when my alarm is turned off I've been waking up before 6:00 AM. The worst thing is that I'm ready to hit the sack at 9:00 PM. I'm an 8 hours a night kinda girl.

In the Summer and Fall I'm generally in a good mood. In the Winter and early Spring I'm a grouch!

I like to consider myself an artist but I don't consider the stuff I make to be art. I'm still pondering the reasoning behind it.
I'm a starter. I'm pushing myself to become a finisher. Those who are starters know what this means. Those who are finishers can't understand it.

So I've finally posted something. I'm getting some of my projects from Art and Soul to a point I can scan them to post. Plus I've made a few swaps since I've been back and will get them posted. Most of my energy has been spent getting myself healthier and loosing weight which I feel is the most important thing I can do for myself.

See you soon!

For once I'm glad summer is ending...

2007-08-28T15:39:00.001-05:00

This hasn't been the greatest summer on record.

My grandmother passed away.
Daphne had emergency surgery for bloat.
Daisy had surgery on her knee.
Daphne had another surgery to remove cysts from her back.
I had inflammation in my eye that has lasted most of the summer.
Last weekend my basement filled with water.
I tried to cut off the pad of my thumb while I was cutting up the basement carpet to throw it out.

I'm glad summer is almost over because I feel like I'm headed for a new start.

There have been some great positives this summer.

I've stuck to my diet and done really well.
I have more energy and feel better than I have in a long time.
I've joined a health club and have been working out.
I took a great workshop from Traci Bautista at Valley Ridge Art Studio.
I'm taking another class at Valley Ridge next week from Robin Atkins called Acrylic Painting~Deluxe Decorative Papers.
I'm going to Art and Soul in Portland (it counts even though it is in October because I've been looking forward to it all summer!). I'm taking classes from Misty Mawn, Claudine Hellmuth, Ann Baldwin and Leslie Rylie.
Things at work are looking up.
I'm back volunteering at the animal shelter after a few months haitus.
Because of the flood in the basement I get to totally reorganize my "studio" and make it the way I want it.
Because of the problem with my eye I finally got new glasses so I can actually see when I wear them.
Because I've lost so much weight I get to buy a new wardrobe.

Isn't it great that the positives outnumber the negatives!

The Big 4-0

2007-08-28T15:12:00.000-05:00

Pounds that is! At my weigh-in this week I hit 40 pounds lost (40.2 to be exact). It's going really well and I've gone down several sizes and none of my old clothes fit any more. I've given most of them away and sent some to the local consignment shop. I have some new clothes for now. I'll continue to need smaller clothes so I don't want to buy a lot until I get to my goal. People are going to have to get used to seeing me in the same outfits for a while.

A little "BIG DOG" fix

2007-08-21T10:14:00.000-05:00

I was looking through some older pictures of the dogs and thought I'd post a few.

Daisy showing off her incision.

This is from her TPLO surgery in June 07.

A little togetherness at nap time.

This is an oldie but typical of Daisy always wanting to touch Daphne.

Daphne and her St. Paddy's Day Bandana

(I know it's the wrong time of year, I just like this picture. It was taken before her muzzle started getting grey.)

Tip-ins

2007-08-07T08:34:00.000-05:00

I signed up for some swaps that are for tip-ins. I sent out the first ones which were for the theme Disjointed Figures (take pieces of figures and combine them together). Here are the pages I made.

Front side page 1

Back side page 1

Front side page 2

Back side page 2

Front side page 3

Back side page 3

Valley Ridge Art Studio ROCKS!!!

2007-08-02T15:11:00.000-05:00

I took a workshop from Traci Bautista this past weekend at the Valley Ridge Art Studio in Wisconsin. It was my first time there and I will definitely be going back (in fact I've already signed up for another workshop). The setting is beautiful and peaceful. Kathy and Bill Malkasian are such gracious hosts and have created a wonderful environment for learning and making art. I highly recommend Valley Ridge to everyone.

Traci was everything I thought she'd be. She is super talented and very inspriational. The class was great and I learned so much. I'll never look at paper towels the same way again! The only regret I have is that the class wasn't longer. There was so much to learn and time went by so fast. I'm definitely going to take another workshop from her.

This is my journal.

Class photo

Traci, her dog Freedom & me

Inchies on ATCs

2007-08-02T15:09:00.000-05:00

This were done for a swap in the ArtTechniquesATC group.

It's been waaaay too long....

2007-07-19T11:36:00.000-05:00

I have been seriously neglecting the blog for a couple of months. I can't think of a good reason except that there is too much going on in my head lately.

My grandmother passed away in May a couple of weeks after my last post and so we went to Oregon for her burial and services. She's with my grandfather now. He passed away in 1978. I'm sure they're catching up on some fishing. Grandpa driving the boat and grandma hauling in the fish.

I've been working on various projects and swaps but haven't posted any pics. Hopefully I'll get that done this weekend.

I've also been doing some work on myself. I finally got in the right mind set to make some changes in my diet. I was getting really tired of not having any energy and struggling with the way I felt and looked. So, in May I started on the Jenny Craig plan. It works great for me and I've lost 27 pounds so far. I have a long way to go but I really feel like I'm going to get there. I've started getting up at the crack of dawn (literally) and walking almost every morning (weather permitting). I'm feeling a lot better and am none of my clothes fit very well. I'm looking forward to some serious shopping when the weather cools off. I'm trying to hold out until then. I don't want to buy a bunch of new stuff that won't fit me for very long. This takes up a lot of mental energy but is well worth it. I feel so much better already and have been really good at sticking to it. I'm actually proud of myself which doesn't happen very often (I'm working on that too).

For now, here is a great quote I saw today that I wanted to share.

“When I was a child, my mother said to me,
‘If you become a soldier, you’ll be a general.
If you become a monk, you’ll end up as the pope.’
Instead I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.”

—Pablo Picasso

I'll be back with pics to share and will try to post at least once per week.

In the meantime, I hope all my blog buddies are doing well and having a great summer!!!

It's been a rough week

2007-05-04T09:12:00.000-05:00

It's been a pretty rough week. We came close to losing Daphne to bloat. She had emergency surgery and is doing great now. It was pretty scary. We're just happy that she's OK and she'll be back to normal in a couple of weeks.

It is really important to be aware of the signs of bloat and to get your dog to the vet right away.

Here are just a few links with more information:

Bloat - The Mother of All Emergencies "It is crucially important that owners of big dogs be aware of this condition and prepared for it. Know where to take your dog during overnight or Sunday hours for emergency care. Avoid exercising your dog after a large meal. Know what to watch for. Enjoy the special friendship a large dog provides but at the same time be aware of the large dog's special needs and concerns."

Bloat

Bloat in Dogs

Tagged

2007-05-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

I’ve been tagged by Aimeslee to list seven random things about myself.

I was born on Mother’s Day and every few years my birthday falls on Mother’s Day. My poor mom has had to share her day every since I was born. When I was little we always went to the Purple Cow, a little ice cream joint, for Mother’s Day (guess who picked that). I bet mom's glad they aren’t there anymore. I miss the Purple Cow sundaes they had a cute little purple cow candy on top.

I work in the hospital I was born in. I haven’t spent my whole life here although some days it feels that way.

I talk to myself way too much and occasionally answer (don’t tell anyone). If I’m at home I talk to the cats. They actually answer me once in a while. I get this trait from my dad.

I don’t like most vegetables. This is a problem right now because I’m trying to eat better and apparently that means eating lots of veggies. Whose idea was that?

I’m addicted to Diet Coke. I try to drink decaf as much as I can but I’d still rather have Diet Coke than anything else. This is causing a problem right now (see #4) as I’m drinking tons of water every day and finding it hard to fit in my Diet Coke. Whose idea was it to not have Diet Coke count as water? Isn't it 99.9% water?

I make jewelry but hardly ever wear any. I have a huge (I mean HUGE) stash of beads and supplies. I sell jewelry at shows and through my website but I very rarely wear any.

I’m afraid of heights. I’m not too bad if I have a railing in front of me but put me next to a floor to ceiling window and my heartbeat skyrockets.

In Memory

2007-04-20T08:54:00.000-05:00

MIA / AWOL

2007-04-16T09:29:00.000-05:00

I've been missing in action for a while. I've been struggling with being creative and been busy at work, plus I've been sick. One reason after another for not posting or being creative. I decided I needed to jump back in with both feet so I started 10 canvases, 5 using techniques from Claudine Hellmuth's books and five using the background technique from my earlier canvases. I also bought some books to alter and have been putting gesso on the pages. I actually bought a 1/2 gallon tub of gesso yesterday. Does that make me an artist?

I do have some excitement in my life. I get to go to Art and Soul in Portland in October!!!! I'll be taking three classes.

Claudine Hellmuth's Magazine Alterology
Ann Baldwin's Telling Stories with Collage and Paint
Leslie Riley's Fabrications

I'm really psyched about this. I've taken workshops for quilting and jewelry but never one for art. I have DVDs by all three of these ladies. I also hope to meet up with some people from one of my Yahoo Groups that will be attending as well.

I also signed up for a 2-day Traci Bautista workshop at Valley Ridge Art Studio. I have Traci's DVD and book. Her style is so different than anything I've done. I'm looking forward to getting way outside my box. I think the 2-day format will really allow me to learn the techniques as well as apply them to a project. I really need to learn to have fun with art. I'm sure Traci is a great one to teach me to do that!

I dragged my mom to a Postcard, Paper & Collectibles Show this weekend. I'd never been to one before. I hoped to find some cabinet cards and images to use for art projects. I've never seen so many postcards in my life. I found a few with fun pictures that were from the early 1900's. I also found some cabinet cards. One vendor had some great cabinet cards but none of them were priced. When I asked him how much they were he couldn't tell me specifically so I decided to pass. Mom thinks he may have wanted to bargain. I think he may have wanted to convince me how wonderful they were and jack up the prices. He was busy gabbing with all the other vendors and not really wanting to sell anything. Mom wasn't too thrilled with the whole episode but did some reminiscing while we were there. She especially like the Life magazine with the picture of Howdy Doody on the cover. He drove through her hometown one time in a big convertible.

So I have quite a few swaps I'm working now and in the near future. Plus I want to get some things together for trading at Art and Soul as well (ATCs, charms, inchies).

Inchies
Art Technique ATCs
Fabric and Beads ATCs
Inchies on ATCs
Resist ATCs
Texture ATCs
Fat Book for Portland Art and Soul

That should keep me busy. Wish me luck in getting my creativity back.

Friday the 13th

2007-04-13T13:55:00.001-05:00

New ATCs

2007-03-23T15:45:00.000-05:00

I finally cut up one of my Paper Whimsy collage sheets. This one is from Sampler Pack 2. I wanted to do something quick and easy so I went to Lisa Vollrath's site Go Make Something and used her Faux Postage Technique.

Freebies from Lisa Vollrath (Ten Two Studios)

2007-03-09T10:50:00.000-06:00

Lisa is doing a countdown to St. Pats with a new free image every day until March 17. Check it out:

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/index.html

She also has great stuff for sale on her site. I have several of her image CDs as well as her How To CDs.

Also check out her other sites:

Go Make Something

Just Print Something

Google Reader ROCKS!!

2007-03-05T11:57:00.000-06:00

You have to check Google Reader out. You can set it up to list updates on all your favorite blogs so you can read them from one place. How cool is that!!!

INCHIES!!!!!

2007-03-01T09:42:00.000-06:00

My very first INCHIES (1x1 inch square)! I used scraps from some backgrounds I'd made using acrylic paints.

This group goes together and says "They call it puppy love". The two real photos are my friend's dog Moose and our Daphne when she was little. I just had to use dogs for my first try.

Words Swap

2007-03-01T09:37:00.000-06:00

I made this card for a "Words" swap.

ATCs

2007-03-01T09:25:00.000-06:00

Here are some ATCs I made recently. I love the German paper scrap. I get it from ArtChix and Joggles.

Goodbye Miss Maggie

2007-02-21T10:11:00.000-06:00

Margaret Mum of Cedar Lane

Maggie is our Daisy’s mom. She belongs to our friends Lorette and Todd. They had to have Maggie put to sleep yesterday. She lived a long and happy life but age had finally taken its toll. We are all very sad. She was such a sweet girl and a great mom. Daisy takes after her in a lot of ways. I think of her when I look at Daisy and she’ll always have a special place in our hearts as she gave us our sweet girl.

Maggie (left) and Daisy

a look back

2007-02-13T11:14:00.000-06:00

It's a snowy, blustery day here in Iowa. I have been going through my pictures looking for a project I'd made a year or so ago which sent me down memory lane, looking over swaps I've done. So, since I haven't made much progress with projects lately I decided to post some things that I made in the past year.

These ATCs were for a swap called "Secret Words" in the Papertrail Arts group (which no longer exists). We were given two words and could use one or both in our ATCs. My words were pineapple and magician.

This card was for a "Map" swap in CCSwaps.

Out of Stuff

2007-02-11T08:53:00.000-06:00

Thanks to everyone who responded for my need to get rid of some STUFF. All the packages are spoken for. So, for now I'm out of STUFF. Check back in as I plan having more STUFF to give away in the future.

We're in the TEENS!!!

2007-02-09T15:38:00.000-06:00

We hit a high of 13 degrees today, almost a heat wave. To celebrate I ventured out at lunch and did a little shopping at the local antique/consignment store. I purchased a couple of new cab cards, some photos and some other fun ephemera.

Granny looks a little stern.

I'm sure she will cheer up when I get a chance to use her picture in some art projects.

Isn't this the cutest baby!

I'm slowly building a collection of images. I stop by every couple of weeks to see what they have new and what's on sale. Granny was 80% off today so she should be smiling (I am).

I don't want to use the original cards so I'll do some high quality scans and print them on my new color laser printer. I haven't tried to alter any yet but I'm getting a lot of good ideas. I have a serious case of OPTION ANXIETY! Any thoughts on how I can get rid of it? I'm up for suggestions.

Happy Birthday Mom

2007-02-07T13:47:00.000-06:00

Today is my mother's birthday. Not only is she my mom but she is also my best friend. It has almost been a year since she was diagnosed with breast cancer. I am so thankful that they found the cancer very early (Stage I) and she is doing great after a lumpectomy and radiation.

I made my first fabric ATCs in honor of mom and all the other women who are breast cancer survivors. It is also in honor of those have not survived.

Thanks mom for just being you. I love you.

I've had a makeover...

2007-02-06T13:58:00.000-06:00

What do you think of my new look? If you'd like to try it go here.

still giving STUFF away

2007-02-05T08:50:00.000-06:00

Sorry all the stuff is gone for now. - updated 2/11/07

I'm still organizing and making packets to give away. Thanks for everyone who replied so far. I forgot one important thing -- I need your mailing address. So when you comment please send me your mailing address at:

kacysmusings at mchsi dot com

(Just don't include the spaces, replace the "at" with an @ and change dot to a "." I'm using them to hopefully avoid spammers).

Giving it away...

2007-01-26T11:25:00.000-06:00

Sorry all the stuff is gone for now. - updated 2/11/07

STUFF – I have too much of it. I’ve been building up quite the supply of art/craft supply STUFF. You know paper, fiber, stamps, paints, embellishments, ephemera and all the other kinds of stuff. So much STUFF that I can’t find it when I actually need it. So, I’ve decided to give some of it away. I have three motives behind this decision. The first is to force me to go through my STUFF and do a little organizing (a four-letter word in disguise). The second is to share my STUFF with others who like to collect STUFF too. And finally, to see if people actually read my blog besides my blog buddy Aimeslee.

Here’s the scoop. Leave a comment and I’ll send you a little of my STUFF! I promise it won’t be junk.

Show and Tell Finished

2007-01-16T20:28:00.000-06:00

I learned a good lesson with this project. I decided not to go with a three-dimensional focal point and instead add images of dogs to the canvases. Because of this the great texture on the canvases meant wrinkles which showed under the images. So, next time I either need to use a three-dimensional focal point so the texture doesn't show through or make sure the texture won't be underneath my image. I like the final canvases other than that. It wasn't so scary after all :)

Here they are. Let me know what you think.

Show and Tell Step 2

2007-01-16T20:23:00.000-06:00

Here are the three canvases after the next round. I decided to go with a dog theme to practice making a piece to donate to the local animal shelter for an art auction they are having as a fund raiser.

These now have more layers of paint, text and stamped elements. I used bubble wrap, a chop stick, rubber shelf liner and an old funnel to make the stamped elements.

Loyal

Faithful

Friend

Show and Tell

2007-01-15T13:14:00.000-06:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted. I did go out of town for a few days. We went to St. Paul, MN to visit friends and watch them show their dogs at the Land O'Lakes Kennel Club Dog Show (pictures here).

I have also been working on painting some canvas boards. I read an article by Sheri Beaubien in the current issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors and decided to just dive in an try it. It scares me a little to do this stuff because I always think it should turn out perfect the first time. One of my goals for this year is to stop thinking that way. So...

Here is the result after the first 3 steps.

There are three canvas boards. At this point they all look alike so I'll only show one.

Step 1: Glue on tissue paper (wrinkled).

Step 2: Cover with gesso.

Step 3: Paint a base coat.

More to follow.

Daisy Belle

2007-01-02T16:56:00.000-06:00

I couldn't resist posting this cute picture of Daisy. She doesn't normally wear a hat indoors.

New Year's Day Dog Walk

2007-01-02T16:49:00.000-06:00

Dogs (from left to right): Daisy, Daphne, Honor, Dreya, Allie, Guiness and Rowdie

People (from left to right): Mom (Shirley), Dad (Bill), me, Nathalie, Todd and Lorette

(not shown Becca and Peter - the photographers)

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

2007-01-02T09:45:00.000-06:00

Welcome to 2007!

I hope this New Year brings health, happiness, prosperity and CREATIVITY!

We had a great New Year’s Day dog walk. There were seven dogs and eight people. The weather was beautiful. Dogs and human’s had a great time.

I’ve been MIA for a while. The hustle and bustle of the holidays has rather zapped my creativity. I did get rejuvenated with some great Christmas gifts to inspire me. The biggest is a color laser printer so now I don’t have to run to the copy store to make color copies. This was rather inconvenient when my muse struck late at night or early in the morning.

I also received some great books:

Traci Bautista’s Collage Unleashed
Sommerset Studio’s Transparent Art
Sally Jean Alexander’s Pretty Little Things
Bernie Berlin’s Artist Trading Cards Workshop

These books are all inspiring and my goal for the year is to try a new technique as least once per month. I’m also planning on trying some technique swaps in a new Yahoo group I’ve joined. This means I’ll be doing less swaps in the other groups. I need to push myself to try new things so I don’t get stuck in a rut and become bored.

I started playing with one of the ideas in Bernie Berlin’s book and will post pictures soon.

So my artistic goals for this year (in no particular order):

Try a new technique at least once per month.
Swap with new groups.
Take some classes (if I can find them).
Push myself to try things that scare me (it’s ok to fail as long as I try).
Get some art on my walls at home and at work!!

Countdown to Christmas

2006-12-15T16:16:00.000-06:00

Only nine more shopping days 'til Christmas.

I haven’t been getting much done lately. Now that the craft show season is over I have to finish getting ready for Christmas. I have done a little bit of my shopping and hope to finish getting the stuff I need to buy this weekend. I still have some items that I want to make for gifts. I’m getting together with a group of stamping buddies this weekend to make some more calendars. They are fun and make good gifts. I’ll post pictures next week. We’ll probably get more gabbing done than calendars but it will be fun any way.

Early next week will be busy at work. We have a faculty candidate coming in and I will be in charge of getting him where he needs to go for a couple of days. It will make for busy days. I’ll be glad when it is over.

Why is it that this time of year causes so much stress?

I did get a couple of swap cards done and mailed.

Puppy Pictures!!!!!

2006-12-03T08:34:00.000-06:00

You can see pictures of our Thanksgiving Day dog walk here.

A great time was had by all.

Sponges and Bubble Wrap

2006-11-30T16:25:00.000-06:00

After years of buying catnip mice and other miscellaneous cat toys I have discovered that the things that make my four-footed kids the happiest are sponges and bubble wrap.

Mouse, my little grey beast, keeps stealing my stamping sponges. If I forget to put them away after I’m done I will find them in various spots all over the house. I don't get her fascination with these items as they just don't seem that entertaining to me. She also has a fixation with rubber bands and has been known to open drawers to get to them. I do my best to keep the rubber bands locked up tight so she won’t eat them. I think she gets a little PO'd at me for this. When I need rubber bands I put them on my wrist for safe keeping so I don't forget and leave them out where Mouse can get to them. Once in a while I’ll forget I have one on and when I least expect it the little grey beast will attack. She’s pretty darn quick. I’ve had to wrestle the little munchkin once or twice to get her to let go (picture a cat attached to a rubber band and hanging from my wrist).

Pima, my striped beast, has a thing for plastic bags and bubble wrap. Bubble wrap being the preferred item to carry around the house while making her “here I come with my baby” howl, which is usually after bed time when its nice and dark and I’m about to fall asleep. I have, on several occasions, awoke to a piece of bubble wrap or a small plastic bag on the floor near my bed. She doesn’t chew or eat these she just carries them around during her nightly prowls. She has other toys she will move about the house too. These are tiny dog toys that are big enough to not end up under the furniture and small enough to be carried and tossed around. The little hedgehog is my favorite. One morning I woke up to a pile of these animals and a plastic bag next to my bed. She had a busy night.

They are such creative girls. Now if I could only teach them to dust or something.

Tuesday Humor

2006-11-28T09:07:00.000-06:00

The Procrastinator's Creed:

1. I believe that if anything is worth doing, it would have been done already.

2. I shall never move quickly, except to avoid more work or find excuses.

3. I will never rush into a job without a lifetime of consideration.

4. I shall meet all of my deadlines directly in proportion to the amount of bodily injury I could expect to receive from missing them.

5. I firmly believe that tomorrow holds the possibility for new technologies, astounding discoveries, and a reprieve from my obligations.

6. I truly believe that all deadlines are unreasonable regardless of the amount of time given.

7. I shall never forget that the probability of a miracle, though infinitesmally small, is not exactly zero.

8. If at first I don't succeed, there is always next year.

9. I shall always decide not to decide, unless of course I decide to change my mind.

10. I shall always begin, start, initiate, take the first step, and/or write the first word, when I get around to it.

11. I obey the law of inverse excuses which demands that the greater the task to be done, the more insignificant the work that must be done prior to beginning the greater task.

12. I know that the work cycle is not plan/start/finish, but is wait/plan/plan.

13. I will never put off until tomorrow, what I can forget about forever.

14. I will become a member of the ancient Order of Two-Headed Turtles (the Procrastinator's Society) if they ever get it organized.

Happy Thanksgiving

2006-11-22T09:55:00.000-06:00

This card is a replacement card for the November COTM. The one I originally sent was returned in pieces yesterday (no wonder I hadn’t had a message that it arrived). Apparently the machine at the post office got hungry. At least my return address was legible so it could be returned and I know to send out another one. I’m amazed this doesn’t happen more often.

This is the front side of my pages for the 2007 Collage Calendar. My brain has trouble with collage. It seems to want everything to be symmetrical and not too cluttered. I’m working on it. It’s kind of like the class I took where we had to do free motion quilting by machine. The instructor kept telling me to loosen up. It was really a struggle for me but when I got it I liked the results. I need to LOOSEN up with collage.

The back side of the page isn’t quite done yet. Life got in the way recently and I haven’t finished putting the pieces all together. It is my goal for this evening.

We’re getting together with friends for a nice dog walk tomorrow morning before starting the Thanksgiving ritual. The weather should be nice and the dogs will LOVE it. It is always to fun to see them all together.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

Quote for the day

2006-11-19T08:00:00.000-06:00

One only needs two tools in life:

WD-40 to make things go and duct tape to make them stop.-

-G.M. Weilacher

Star and Bell

2006-11-16T15:35:00.000-06:00

I've been taking some online classes at Joggles. This one is taught by Carol Murphy. Here are my first attempts. They definitely need some work.

Quick Cards

2006-11-13T11:11:00.000-06:00

I had three goals this weekend:

Get something done!
Use some of my pretty paper.
Use some stamp sets I haven't used much.

I've been having a creative block so I went back to cards I'd made before and to Splitcoast Stampers for some inspiration. I tend to get overloaded with ideas when I do this so I quickly picked a couple of cards I liked and stopped looking. Here is what I came up with.

These are CASED from Craftygirl04 on Splitcoast.

I got to blow some dust off of my Bernina for these.

These are cased from Laurakj at Splitcoast.

2006-11-08T11:14:00.000-06:00

A quick upload today of some cards I made for the Winter Card Swap.

This one is made in honor of our wonderful swap hostess Lorian. She loves dogs too.

Closed

Open

This one is a new pull out card that I learned from Susie my Demo extraordinaire.

I hope to get some serious creating done next week as I’m taking a few days for R&R. I have some new ideas flying around in my brain that need to get out. I can’t put too many more in there until I get rid of some. There's just not enough room for everything I need to keep in the noggen. As I get older there seems to be less space.

Five Random Things About Me

2006-10-26T14:18:00.000-05:00

I saw this on another blog and thought it might be a good way to introduce myself a little.

1. I like animals. I have two rescued cats, Pima and Mouse. They are my kids. I love them but I wish I could teach them to dust or something.

I love big dogs! Two very special big dogs are Daphne and Daisy. They live with my parents but I consider them mine too. I’m the #1 dog sitter. You can see pictures of them as well as some of their friends and relatives here.

I’m learning to appreciate all breeds, shapes and sizes of dogs through volunteering at the local animal shelter. I walk dogs on as many Saturdays as I can and help as other various events throughout the year. I used to do rescue transports and home visits for rescue groups.

2. I’m not a morning person. I’m getting better as I get older. I don’t wake up easily especially in the winter. I’m not the kind of person who can just jump out of bed and be raring to go. It takes time to get moving. It is best not to be too cheery around me until I’ve been up for a little while.

3. I am not very artistic (my brother got that gene). I dabble in different things: stamping, bead jewelry, quilting, etc… I enjoy trying different techniques and projects. Participating in swaps has really forced me outside my box and to try different things. I’m also my own worst critic.

4. I cry at the drop of a hat. It gets really bad when they start airing the sappy Hallmark commercials around Christmas.

5. I watch too much TV. I’m trying to back off some and have been successful in cutting back to only watching on 4 nights a week. I’m slightly addicted to Grey’s Anatomy, more for the McScenery than anything else! My closet favorite is Men in Trees (don’t tell).

Quote for the day

2006-10-25T09:44:00.000-05:00

Let each man exercise the art he knows.

Aristophanes, Wasps, 422 B.C.Greek
Athenian comic dramatist (450 BC - 388 BC)

Getting Things Done

2006-10-24T14:08:00.000-05:00

The jewelry show went well and some of my stress has been relieved. I was able to spend all day stamping with friends at a “Stamp Till You Cramp” workshop done by my Stampin’ Up demonstrator. Susie does a great job and is very creative. I always learn something and we made some really great cards. I came home and used several of the ideas for the winter card swap.

We have another jewelry show this weekend so I’ll be spending the week making jewelry and then I’ll be able to work on the other projects on my list.

I did get the Trash to Treasure: Junk Mail swap done and in the mail. Here is the card I made using an envelope and words from a credit card solicitation. I’m glad I was able to put it to use rather than shredding it for the landfill.

What have I been doing with all my time and why don't I have anything to show for it?

2006-10-19T11:05:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I posted any artwork. Not that I haven’t been making any just that I don’t get it posted. I’ve been busy making cards, ATCs, chunky book pages and calendar pages for swaps. Sometimes it feels like I never have anything to show for all the work because I mail everything off. Realistically I know I have a lot to show for it because I get great stuff in return. One of these days I just need to take some time to make things for myself so I can put it on my walls or in my books and say that “I MADE THAT”. I try to scan everything I make but it isn’t the same as having something tangible to hold in your hand.

I have done three swaps lately that include getting my own contributions back. I sent in pages for two chunky books and a collaborative calendar. I’m beginning to like these kinds of swaps more and more because it is a group effort and all of the contributors get to see what everyone else made.

Maybe if I make a list of things I’ve done lately I’ll feel like I’ve accomplished something. So here it goes:

CC SWAPS
Bathing Beauties Chunky Book pages (35 pages) - FINISHED
Alphabet D card (1 for 1) -FINISHED
Trash to Treasure Desk Drawer card (1 for 1) - FINISHED
Anything But Rubber card (1 for 1) - FINISHED
Latest Purchase card (1 for 1) - FINISHED
Alphabet E card (1 for 1) - FINISHED
White Chunky Book pages (36 pages) - FINISHED

MIDWEST STAMPERS
2007 Calendar – September (12 pages) - FINISHED
“Your Choice” Scary Creatures card swap (6 for 6, not identical) - FINISHED
Autumn Card Swap (6 for 5, not identical) - FINISHED
Autumn Trading Card Swap (7 for 7, not identical) - FINISHED
Card of the Month for August, September and October (1 for 1) - FINISHED

Here is what I’m looking forward to for the rest of October and for November

CC SWAPS Pending Swaps (updated 11-19-06)
Trash to Treasure Junk Mail card (1 for 1) - FINISHED
Fabric Swap card (1 for 1) - FINISHED
Alphabet F card (1 for 1) - FINISHED
2007 Collaborative Collage Calendar (14 pages) - FINISHED
Alphabet G card (1 for 1) - FINISHED
Stitches card (1 for 1) - FINISHED

MIDWEST STAMPERS Pending Swaps (updated 11-19-06)
Winter Cards (6 for 5, not identical) - FINISHED
Card of the Month for November - FINISHED

Mom and I also have three jewelry shows coming up. It’s a good thing I have her because I’ve been sick for the last 2 ½ weeks and haven’t had any energy or a creative inkling. It is just too hard to cough up a lung and create at the same time. I have made a few pieces of jewelry and hopefully will be updating the web site soon. Mom has been very creative and making wonderful jewelry for the shows. She and dad have also been providing TLC and meals when for there needy, sick daughter. I don't know what I would do without them.

So it is time to get off my soap box and get creative!!! If only I didn't have to have a day job...

Altered CD

2006-08-12T09:16:00.000-05:00

My first attempt at an altered CD. I used torn paper for the background which I learned from Try It Tuesday.

Altered Canvas

2006-06-25T16:36:00.000-05:00

On Creative Cards and CC Swaps (Yahoo Groups) our list mom Trish presented us with a challenge to alter canvases. I've always wanted to do this but have been a little reluctant to dive in. I finally decided there was no time like the present. So here are my canvases after Step 1.

I was a little timid with this first one.

When I started working on this one I was thinking about trees.

This one is for a sky. I made it for a project I've had in my head for a while.

Tune in to see how they turn out in Step 2.

Another Rainy Day in Iowa

2006-06-25T16:24:00.000-05:00

I've been taking advantage of the rain and have been working on a couple of projects.

Here are my latest ATCs.

Quirky Quips

2006-06-24T12:28:00.000-05:00

My most recent project is a swap I'm doing for the Yahoo Group CCSwaps. It is a 4x4 chunky book titled "Quirky Quips". This is the first chunky book page I've done. Here is my page (think Wizard of Oz):

I can't wait to see the finished book.