CED ~ 2008 - Discoveries...

I've made a few discoveries over the past few days...

The first, purchasing a stereo from an out of town Goodwill store for $40 was a good purchase. I worried for a moment that it wouldn't work; only to discover, it does, now I just need to figure out how to shut it off! LOL! I'm not joking... when I hit the power button, the led screen spins. I attempted to set the clock... hmmm, I'm still baffled on that one and over the course of the past few days discovered it definitely has a mind all of its own! I tested the CD player with an old Melissa Etheridge CD and it works fine. The only problem was a few days later, I was on the computer in the other room, and hear comes Melissa's voice singing in the background over the TV that Don had left on in the living room. It took me several minutes to realize that the song playing isn't even on this CD! It seems the FM radio is possessed! Turns on whenever it feels like it... oh well, it's very portable for using on our deck or even in my studio! What did I expect for $40? LOL!

I'm still working in my sketchbook, sort of randomly, here and there. I added a quote to the back of the previous page I created, in fact, I scattered a few of my favorites elsewhere in the book. The photo above was taken with my digital camera while those below were scanned in.

This one I used the B&W/text setting on the scanner, and the one below as was scanned as a photograph.

I thought there was some amazing differences in the images. Anyways, I'm attempting to get myself back into the habit of drawing once again, like everyone, I suppose I'm better at drawing some things better than others which is the purpose of my explorations --- to challenge myself. The Ralph Waldo Emerson quotation is a reminder of that.

In other news, news-worthy to report... I've updated the Row House Swap participants of a change in mailing the return of this swap out. Instead of me waiting for one person's swap contribution, I emailed her to see if it would be possible for her to mail her contribution out to each participant individually. This will save all of us involved some time from waiting for the return of the swap and I hope this change was well received. I hesitated to ask, knowing it would mean more work for someone who is so busy already... but in the end, I felt it best for everyone involved. The results of this Row House swap are phenomenal! I'll post a photo after I get my own set up and adhered the way I desire them to sit on one of my studio shelves.

Speaking of studios, I haven't been in mine in a while. This past week we've seen a heat wave here in Ohio and although Don offered to purchase me an air conditioner for the space, I declined, believing with the economy we can put that $$$ to work in better ways right now. It seemed sort of indulgent to me as I would probably only need it 6-8 weeks out a year, during July and August.

Did you notice that my sketch contained a new tool that I recently purchased? I made a sketch of it in my sketchbook and since it is a gel pen, and refillable, I figured if it wasn't suitable in my sketchbook, I could use it for my written journals... which I've sadly been neglecting. I'm going to have to rectify that soon....

My thoughts have continued along the lines of starting another altered book. I've been doing some browsing online and considering what I want the end result to become. That may seems sort of pointless to some but I want some sense of unity with the finished book once I begin creating it. I dug out a few of my old trusty ephermera CD's and have been browsing for images I'd like to include, and have made some notes of techniques I'd like to try to include. I'm thinking perhaps this would make a wonderful project for me to get started on in the fall as I am desiring to finish up some of my own WIP's.... like patching my crazy quilt entirely so I can work on stitching and embellishing it this winter... another work in progress, LOL! Little by little, I have faith that one day I'll see the fruit of my labor, it's just going to take some time, and I know it will be all worth it in the end!

Whatever you are "discovering" today, I hope that it's "happy discoveries",
{*smiles*}