the moments {a series}: no 31: cooking up something that will "pop"

Art Pops!! do you know who Roben-Marie Smith is? she has been sweating over her creative cauldron and has come up yet again, with something very cool for us to play and create with!! she has been sharing sneak peeks this week of what she has been cooking up.

i am very fortunate to have been asked to help make cool stuff with Roben's new stuff. my package came yesterday. check out her coolest tape on my package......

stop back soon to see what i will be cooking up with Roben-Marie's Art Pops!

the moments {a series} no 30: speaks to me....

i had decided to submit a painting for consideration for another book. only when i went to my studio, anything new and cool had already been taken to the galleries..... i do keep just a very few of my own paintings that truly speak to me.

sometimes i just need to let them whisper to me for a short time, and then, i am ok to let those paintings go to the galleries so that someone else can love them as much as i do. but, this particular painting has never left. so when i was looking through to see what if anything i could possibly submit....

this painting was yelling at me to be chosen. i do not know whether it stands a chance- but, it is a chance i had to take. whether it makes it to publishing remains to be seen, but, this painting will always speak to me.....

the moments {a series} no 28: inspiration

so excited to finally have to time this weekend to read through my newest copy of ClothPaperScissors. this is one of my all time favorite magazines. i love the articles and pictures of the art work- in almost every issue there is at least one story i can connect with.

in this issue, i really connected with the story, Nature gives Release, of armature and dresses. if you have never made armature you should give it a try....

i have done armature projects in the past....i made a bird here, a teapot, and here is the project i did when i worked with a high school student.

the moments {a series} no 25: scrap paper, art journaling

i like using scraps of overpainted paper -ripping the papers up to use for something else which generally leaves small overpainted paper scraps in my paper pile.

sometimes while i am digging through this pile, i find a scrap that i absolutely love....it is usually the color combo on that scrap.

it is the hot pink peaking through; the splash of purple dropped onto this paper maybe be mistake that my love of this paper begins....

this moment in my life is brought to you today by my weird love of color and randomness.....

and saving these papers in my art journal for me to love for a long time.....because when i see it, it makes me happy.....

the moments {a series} no 24: great big stitched postcard swap

yesterday was one of the best days....when i checked the mail, there was a package from across the sea....london to be exact! i love my postcard my swap partner had made for me- hope she likes mine equally as well- i showed my postcard here....

her purples were perfect!! they are my favorite color! thank you!

the moments {a series} no 23: first snow

yesterday when i opened the back door to let the dog out, i noticed these small white fluffies falling gently to the ground....yes- it was snowing! this was our first snow this year. the colors here, this fall have been amazing- so when i stepped out to get a pic, one of our maple's colorful orange-red leaves had fallen into the greens of my apple tree. this snow was perfect this time- just a very nice dusting to cover everything, but, then melt away.

when we moved into our house 13 years ago this month, we started with a few white fluffies in the air, and ended up finishing in almost a complete blizzard. everything was well covered with snow and stayed covered until april of the following year. when the snow had finally melted away, we had been driving on the grass all winter- the driveway was much narrower than what we thought.....glad for the "quick" snow this time.

the moments {a series} no 22: another file folder card- trust

i made an extra file folder card on sunday. i had a very kind friend who shared some words of wisdom with me when i needed them.....this is for her. thank you- it was just what i needed to hear.

the moments {a series} no 21: thank you's and colorful enveopes

this past week at my big girl job, my employees on the day shift decided to buy me a scarf for "bosses day." they caught me a little off guard, by all coming into my office, asking if they could talk to me.

now, generally speaking, i have learned that when the group wants to talk to me- something big, and usually bad, is going down.....but, not this time! instead they handed me a small gift to open.

i was very moved by this gesture. and so, made thank you's with envelopes for my group....

 i used a file folder for the paper and layered on gelli plate prints. i had grabbed some paint chips at the store in some of my favorite colors and punched out a circle matching colors on each of the cards. but, before gluing down my circle i put down a strip of washi tape. the final thing was to stitch around the outside of the card. if you don't sew or have a sewing machine- you could certainly just use a black pen and outline the edge of your card.

 when i make cards- i need to have an envelope to put the card in.....here is my simple trick for quick envelopes especially when the card is small (approximately 4" x 4"). i found a relatively tall book and ripped out the pages. i double checked to make sure that my book paper was indeed large enough by checking the edges to see if i could stitched them up and still have room for my card- which i did. then i noticed that my book paper was going to be short....super easy to fix! i grabbed some over painted paper and ripped those into strips. i folded down a small tab at the top and made sure that my over painted strips were now long enough that i could stitch the strips on and they would then come down and meet the bottom book paper- creating my envelope. if you still have questions- please let me know! i can show you step by step if need be!

going to be delivering thank you cards today! loved how these turned out.....

the moments {a series} no 19: great big stitched postacard swap

today's moment in my life is being brought to you by the Great Big Stitched Postcard Swap. what is this you ask?

it is:

• postcard swap. visit here to see other postcards on their FB page
• from all over the world- 300 participants this year
• created and organized by Do What You Love

 my postcard was made with the help of my gelli plate, stencil, stamping, and washi tape.....

 i put down a base print first from my gelli plate. then added the pink scallop along the left edge and the blue polka dots with my stencil. i had left the bottom edge open and used a strip of washi tape. i cut the edge to fit my scallop. my favorite is the sunburst....i used a homemade stencil and my gelli plate. i am loving this shape right now....visit me on instagram to see my homemade stencil.

 this is the front side of my postcard...a little stamping and some collage. i scored a roll of vintage Montgomery Ward price stickers at a rummage sale! love those....

added my postcard partner's address and my return address.....drop into mail. mine is off to the UK- hope she enjoys this homemade postcard cutie!

the moments {a series} no 18: tgif

this week has been a sprint and i am so thankful that it is friday.....hoping for some studio time this weekend. beautiful something....take my hand. tgif.

the moments {a series} no 17: parents' night

we had our last home game for volleyball; and that is always parents' night. the girls give thier mom a flower and their dad candy.....but, the best thing is the hug when you meet up at half court. this is our daughter's junior year....one last short year to go after this one, and then, she will spread her wings and go off to college. but, until next year we will stay focused on this year with one more regular season game and then start sections next week.

i am thankful for this moment....

interrupt the moments for one little word

i am taking a small break from the moments to bring you.....one little word. our word this month was color. stop by and check out what everyone else made.

could they have picked a better word?.....i think not! if you have been a long follower or have recently just joined- you will not see much soft pastel colors here. nope- i paint and work in big, bright, happy, colors....and usually as many as i can.

here is a sneak peak of my painting for "color." i painted mine on yupo paper- beginning with paper that already had paint down, but, was clearly not finished.

do you have a favorite color? let me know which one! want to play along?....there is a "add your link" at the bottom of the post on the one little word link above- so come and join us! if you do- be sure to let me know!

the moments {a series} no 15: painting for a cause

On Friday evening I painted downtown at HGS Gallery. All proceeds from the silent auction went to our local fire dept. It was the "halloween" show so all the artists needed to paint in costume.  I was a witch..... Not very scary or bad, but I did wear fake eye lashes! I love those....especially in blue- I am such a dork....  

my idea for the evening was to paint a set of my "love letters" on canvas- (2) 6x8 and (1) 8x10. the words I had picked out were along that theme- adultish. however, when I realized that a young girl was who was going to win my set of paintings.....I needed new words.

 

I opened my "magical" book and poof! the words, "an excited little pink whirlwind" were the first words that spoke to me. those words could not have been more appropriate because when I first started painting with my first color (a red/ pink), the little girl exclaimed, "I want the pink ones mommy!"

I truly loved the words I found for this set of paintings for the little girl!

these were my paintings early on at this point.....they ended up with a quinacrodone magenta over the whole thing to pull it all together. I loved the texture that I put onto all of these. you catch a glimpse on the corner in a soft blue/ green.

end of the night.....this was how I ended. many people asked if I normally paint with my fingers and hands....well, yes- of course!

the moments {a series} no 11: "chalk" it up to a moment

 yesterday was i walking along the sidewalk and found this little piece of blue chalk sitting along the grassy edge. who can resist a piece of chalk and so much sidewalk?....i did not have much extra time, but, there is always time for a heart. sharing some love in a quick moment. i left the chalk in the heart so hopefully someone else would add to my heart. happy friday!

the moments {a series} no 10: homemade stencil

this was my homemade stencil i made to use with my gelli plate for the postcard i made and posted yesterday. i simply used a piece of cardstock paper and cut my shape. i normally cut as i go and take no prisoners....but, as you can see by my taped in "leg," this method is not always the best. but, isn't that what tape is for?! i seem to be in love with this shape....love how the print looks in my art journals and anything else that is within hands reach.

the moments {a series} no 9: postcard with the gelli plate

 i am participating in the "great big stitched postcard swap." this project was created by Do What You Love and my due date is the end of next week. my "partner" lives in London and we will each make a postcard for each other and send. i worked on mine yesterday. i started with a gelli plate print on a file folder, cut it down to size, and layered on another couple of layers which included the hot pink topper and the yellow sunburst. hope she likes it!!

the moments {a series} no 8: last summertime toes

waiting for the coffee this morning....and looked down to see my hot pink toes cheerfully waiting to take me to the living room. my daughter and i had gone one last time to have our toes painted. here in the midwest we are set to enjoy another day of mid-70's, but, the month of october is here; and seeing some of the colors peaking out on the trees, means there will not be many days of 70's left to enjoy.....

the moments {a series} no 7: swap meet

 my husband and i braved the cold and misty weather yesterday morning to go to a swap meet. with the temp being 46 degrees however, it kept most of the vendors from coming- so there was not too much to see, but, i loved this stack of vintage dashboards. i loved the colors and the wonderful variations from each auto maker. my favorite should be the brown/ tan one which is a plymouth, but, i am drawn to the middle one with the circular clock in the middle of the dash.

the moments {a series} no 6: rolodex file card art

yesterday i found time to play in my studio for just a bit.....i like to start with a rolodex file card. the cards are small and easy and nice to do as a warm up. sometimes i do several. i had been saving that purple circle....i loved the colors on it and knew it would pop on a yellow background. i used a stencil for the polka dots and a glimmer mist, added washi tape and the sewing. this was a moment yesterday.....

the moments {a series} no 5: backyard view

 this is the view of our backyard....my view before we remodeled our kitchen was of the business next door- their in-desperate-need-of-new-shingles-roof. so i truly appreciate this view of our backyard every day.

the moments {a series} no 4: friend birthday wishes homemade

 i had made a birthday card for a friend. i had used my gelli plate to print the black first layer onto a file folder- cut down to size; and, added another layer from my gelli plate with the blue on the top. i used some scrapbook paper for the right hand corner. i trimmed to fit and stamped a blue circle and the birthday wishes; finishing up with simply drawing circles and a little doodling. my final task was to sew on a piece of decorative blue trim. birthday wishes made.....

the moments {a series} no 3: morning coffee routine

 my morning routine includes coffee...which of course has to have a little sweetener (cuz i am not sweet enough....especially in the mornings). i like resting the spoon and packets on one of my vintage saucers. this set is one of my favorites....it is square. i love the green shades on the leaves, and i paid 2 bucks for the whole box. it doesn't get much better than that, and it makes me happy each morning.

the moments {a series} no 2: pumpkin spice cake with caramel pecan glaze

no 2: i made pumpkin spice cake with caramel pecan glaze yesterday. i was the hostess with the most-est for antique club last night and our topic was redwing pottery. i was able to show and explain our nice variety of redwing we have collected over the years.

the moments {a series} no 1: pen pal letter received...

 i am playing along with Tammy over at Daisy Yellow- who created this idea of posting "the moments." every day in october i will post a little glimpse of my life with a picture onto instagram and here on my blog. 

no 1: i had played with Rachelle over at magpie girl who hosted a friend pen pal letter exchange. i wrote a letter and sent a self-addressed stamped envelope to receive one back. yesterday my letter came. when i saw it sitting in the mailbox, it brought a huge smile.