is catching up. Catching up with a few loads of laundry, housekeeping, emails, and recent posts. Lots of thoughts on my mind, to do list, and most of it is art related. I am heading out to the studio at 1 p.m. this afternoon to clean up the supplies we recently took out there and to carry a few more boxes out, sort through, and organize.
I'm feeling a bit guilty as Christine telephoned me recently to invite me out to her house for an overnight crop tonight and unfortunately, I've been so busy with the studio re-0rganizing, cleaning house, spending time with the dogs {LOL! Yes, Don is included in that one!} that the thought of packing anything up at this point and time to take anywhere just wasn't feasible for me. To rectify that situation, I intend to get the studio done and establish my XXL as a project central. I've discovered a few things that I started to work on and never finished so if I stick them in there, I'll have something ready to take anywhere whenever. I have to call Christine and send my apologies. She's been wonderful to me, coming over here to crop and work on a variety of projects over the years that I feel guilty that I am unable to do the same for her - especially the first time she's invited me!
I'm also feeling so overwhelmed at the moment. There are so many things that I want to do yet the timing of them is off for me right now. I try to just take a deep breath, tackle one thing at a time, and not think about the rest of it. Definately "easy said than done" on some days; okay, most days! Don's work schedule throws me off so bad. I truly thought that I'd get more accomplished since he is on days, but now that he is, I'm not so certain. The five hours he's gone out of the day, doesn't leave me with much time to pursue the things I desire to do, especially with so many obligations to the house, the dog, my daughter and grandbaby. I feel pulled in a thousand different directions all at the same time. It is my hopes and dreams that get put on the back burner to accomodate everyone else so it's definately time to establish some time management skills and do what I can within the time that I have.
The washer and dryer just buzzed... time to go finish that up. I'll try to make it back on later. Ta. Ta. for now.....
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Simple Sparrow
Just a simple little, "Thank You" card that I made in a total of 5 minutes last night using all of my newly purchased items. Simple, yet oh so sweet!
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Chronicle Books... Oh Boy Labels
I also discovered these beauties! Labels! Contained within the prettiest mauve box with a transparent Plexiglas top holding lid with an elegant assortment of over 100 retro labels. In the most subtle shades of green, pink, red, and blue, and edged by beautifully intricate borders, these labels will add a stylish touch to gift tags, house-hold organizing, correspondence, and so much more.
I also purchased a book on sale regarding fabric and paper dying and decorating. I don't have it handy at the moment, but will post the title later. It features some of the most beautiful papers I believe I've ever seen along with supply lists and the techniques to re-create them; lots of the techniques that work on paper will also work on fabrics with a bit of additional supply purchases.
Don and I also looked at screenprinting equipment and supplies but decided to wait for a catalog from a wholesale company he hopes to deal with in the future. I'm hoping that we'll see something that we both can agree on and like. I believe I'd so love using one in my paper arts and Don will be able to use it for his business. They have a really nice large sized screenprinting press there and who knows maybe yours truly will really enjoy it and make some items with fabric as well!
I also looked, okay, swooned over, some linocut supplies but decide to wait a bit as I know I have some small block printing supplies and Speedball linoleum cutters somewhere in my studio. Deciding it best to locate them first before considering what to purchase would be my best bet to avoid duplicates. Also, I hesitated a bit, wondering how much I'd actually use them. What if I don't enjoy it? or cannot find the time to utilize them to their fullest potential?
But anyways, I'm really excited about learning some new printmaking techniques, although rubber stamping will always be my first love. I think it will come in handy for my paper and book arts projects and I'm dying to get started.
Swoon...
I've coveted these Cavallini's Birds & Nests rubber stamps every since I first spied them. These antique looking bird-themed wood-mounted stamps also come presented in one of the cutest decorator metal tin and the aged hard-wood mounts, are just as equally impressive! They are as beautiful to look at as the images they will imprint! The 11 stamps come together with a 4" x 2 1/4" ink pad.It's sort of strange looking back on them now, but I've always been attracted to these sweet images! Today, I am totally swooning after I purchased them while visiting and drooling in a Dick Blick's Art Supplies store, and I cannot wait to use them to stamp some tags and stationary sets. Aren't they adorable?
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
An artful experiment....
Yesterday, I got a bit a curious about something would work and decided to try it. Here is my first attempt at it after I cut the bird image I freehand drew and used vivid dye ink to stamp it out on paper. It is something I plan to experiment a bit more with, although I am not trying to perfect it too much. Basically, it is just something that I desire to use in my art journals.
Monday, July 10, 2006
What a wonderful day...
After playing with Chaos for a while yesterday, Don and I set out to removing some of the art supplies that I've somehow managed to bring into the house over the course of time. It begins with me desiring to do a bit of research into something or desiring to create something yet have the TV on at the same time. So therefore, I trek out to the studio, grabbing the desired items, and heading back into the house, LOL! Well, yesterday, we made a huge dent in the supplies stored here and got them moved back into the studio; I still have a few things that need to go out yet but nothing like before. I did manage to actually get some of the supplies in the studio put away even! A major accomplishment in and of itself, LOL!
After eating a bowl of my homemade veggie soup for lunch, grabbing a short nap, we set out for the day with no particular destination in mind; just a getaway to enjoy the beautiful weather. We headed out St. Rt. 23 S to Columbus trying to decide where we'd like to have dinner at later in the day. Not desiring to be inside, I suggested having dinner at A Bag of Nails in Worthington. Upon arriving, we sat at an curbside patio drinking ice tea and lemonade while waiting for our meal. I just love this place, it is small, and very quaint. Add in the fact that menu itself is a piece of art any vintage lover would enjoy and outside patio seating and I'm in heaven. The menu features black and white and sepia pictures of the original owner's family with a storyline throughout regarding the dishes that they serve. One of our favorites is the fish sandwich platter which is huge! Don and I share one along with a house salad; trust me, that is plenty enough to eat! Our salads arrived shortly after our drinks and we sat and ate the cold, crisp lettuce, sprinkled with carrots, tomatoes, bacon, and crumbled blue cheese while doing a bit of chatting and people watching. Shortly thereafter our meal arrives; deep-fried fish with a side of tartar sauce, lettuce, tomato, and purple onion sliced thin on a kiaser bun -- pure bliss!
Having satisfied our hunger cravings, we travel on down the road.
Approximately, 15-20 minutes later, we decide to stop and leisurely walk off some of our dinner in Clintonville's Whetstone Park of Roses. It is a beautiful 13 acre park and the roses were absolutely gorgeous. The various gardens are truly a treasure with pathways engraved with memory etched stones scattered along the way. The garden was in just past the peak of being in full bloom and offered a multitude of colors, styles of roses, and fragrances. Its splendor exceeds many parks we've visited. The park offers a variety of things to do, a place to walk your dogs, people watch, allow children to play, enjoy a small pond, musical entertainment and picnic style dining under a majestic canopy of Maple and Oak trees. Anyways, we head into the main section of the park where the rose gardens themselves are located, meanderly strolling along the paved pathways past the Perrineal Gardens, a Herb Garden, and make our way to the fountain where we sat enjoying the sunshine and the moist wet breeze of spray from the fountain itself. After another leisurely stroll under the trumpet vine covered arbor we made our way back to the truck. Desiring not to let the excellent weather go to waste, we decide to travel on down St. Rt. 23 S.
Just south of the Columbus corporation limit sign, I spotted another sign for Slate Run Metro Park. Neither Don or I have been there so we follow the signs on a narrow country road, driving past golden field of hay just in its peak, the beauty of it is spectacular! Shortly after 7 p.m., we arrive at the first Slate Run Wetlands Wildlife Refuge of the park just off of Winchester Road. We walked a section of the Kokomo Wetland trial, probably a half mile, out to the actual wetland. There was a wood deck built there that goes right out over one of the the cattail marshes, where we did a bit of bird watching. We only seen a few eastern meadowlarks and sparrows there.
Next, we headed south further until arriving at Marcy Road, making our way to the main park entrance. We tried to visit the Slate Run Living Historical Farm and Farmhouse which provides the opportunity to see the routines of daily life of the 1880's being carried out. Unfortunately, this area of the park closes at 6 p.m. so we missed it. Deciding we'd really like to see it and spend more time in the wildlife areas, we promised each other that we'd one day return when the farm and farmhouse are open bringing with us food to cookout and have a picnic.
From there we continued on into the park, making our way to the Buzzard's Roost Picnic area and playgrounds where we followed a paved trail out to Buzzard's Roost Lake's deck and boardwalk. We watched a doe come out of the woods to the water's edge of the 14 acre lake for a cool evening drink through a telescope and saw a green huron, a ring-necked duck and some wood ducks sunning themselves on rocks located within the wetland lake. The area is surrounded by open marshes and woods filled with beech, sugar maple, oak and hickory trees which offers a wonderful area in which to spend the day birdwatching as there over 70 species of wetland dependant birds and over 200 migratory birds --- Everything from herons, to ducks, owls, and others. I was a bit remorseful that I'd not grabbed my digital camera to capture some of the flowers, fauna, insects and birds. As soon as we return, I promise I'll post some.
After eating a bowl of my homemade veggie soup for lunch, grabbing a short nap, we set out for the day with no particular destination in mind; just a getaway to enjoy the beautiful weather. We headed out St. Rt. 23 S to Columbus trying to decide where we'd like to have dinner at later in the day. Not desiring to be inside, I suggested having dinner at A Bag of Nails in Worthington. Upon arriving, we sat at an curbside patio drinking ice tea and lemonade while waiting for our meal. I just love this place, it is small, and very quaint. Add in the fact that menu itself is a piece of art any vintage lover would enjoy and outside patio seating and I'm in heaven. The menu features black and white and sepia pictures of the original owner's family with a storyline throughout regarding the dishes that they serve. One of our favorites is the fish sandwich platter which is huge! Don and I share one along with a house salad; trust me, that is plenty enough to eat! Our salads arrived shortly after our drinks and we sat and ate the cold, crisp lettuce, sprinkled with carrots, tomatoes, bacon, and crumbled blue cheese while doing a bit of chatting and people watching. Shortly thereafter our meal arrives; deep-fried fish with a side of tartar sauce, lettuce, tomato, and purple onion sliced thin on a kiaser bun -- pure bliss!
Having satisfied our hunger cravings, we travel on down the road.
Approximately, 15-20 minutes later, we decide to stop and leisurely walk off some of our dinner in Clintonville's Whetstone Park of Roses. It is a beautiful 13 acre park and the roses were absolutely gorgeous. The various gardens are truly a treasure with pathways engraved with memory etched stones scattered along the way. The garden was in just past the peak of being in full bloom and offered a multitude of colors, styles of roses, and fragrances. Its splendor exceeds many parks we've visited. The park offers a variety of things to do, a place to walk your dogs, people watch, allow children to play, enjoy a small pond, musical entertainment and picnic style dining under a majestic canopy of Maple and Oak trees. Anyways, we head into the main section of the park where the rose gardens themselves are located, meanderly strolling along the paved pathways past the Perrineal Gardens, a Herb Garden, and make our way to the fountain where we sat enjoying the sunshine and the moist wet breeze of spray from the fountain itself. After another leisurely stroll under the trumpet vine covered arbor we made our way back to the truck. Desiring not to let the excellent weather go to waste, we decide to travel on down St. Rt. 23 S.
Just south of the Columbus corporation limit sign, I spotted another sign for Slate Run Metro Park. Neither Don or I have been there so we follow the signs on a narrow country road, driving past golden field of hay just in its peak, the beauty of it is spectacular! Shortly after 7 p.m., we arrive at the first Slate Run Wetlands Wildlife Refuge of the park just off of Winchester Road. We walked a section of the Kokomo Wetland trial, probably a half mile, out to the actual wetland. There was a wood deck built there that goes right out over one of the the cattail marshes, where we did a bit of bird watching. We only seen a few eastern meadowlarks and sparrows there.
Next, we headed south further until arriving at Marcy Road, making our way to the main park entrance. We tried to visit the Slate Run Living Historical Farm and Farmhouse which provides the opportunity to see the routines of daily life of the 1880's being carried out. Unfortunately, this area of the park closes at 6 p.m. so we missed it. Deciding we'd really like to see it and spend more time in the wildlife areas, we promised each other that we'd one day return when the farm and farmhouse are open bringing with us food to cookout and have a picnic.
From there we continued on into the park, making our way to the Buzzard's Roost Picnic area and playgrounds where we followed a paved trail out to Buzzard's Roost Lake's deck and boardwalk. We watched a doe come out of the woods to the water's edge of the 14 acre lake for a cool evening drink through a telescope and saw a green huron, a ring-necked duck and some wood ducks sunning themselves on rocks located within the wetland lake. The area is surrounded by open marshes and woods filled with beech, sugar maple, oak and hickory trees which offers a wonderful area in which to spend the day birdwatching as there over 70 species of wetland dependant birds and over 200 migratory birds --- Everything from herons, to ducks, owls, and others. I was a bit remorseful that I'd not grabbed my digital camera to capture some of the flowers, fauna, insects and birds. As soon as we return, I promise I'll post some.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
A sigh of relief..
The stress of the last week is behind me... the telephones are working, the broken mop has been replaced, and I've decided not to stress myself out worrying about the damn Jeep. It's old and should be repaired and replaced one day. I spent Friday night out with Don and friends. We listened to a great band at the Moose, chatted, laughed, and danced our hearts out. It was great to get out and gain a new perspective on life once more and spending the entire day on Saturday with my granddaughter helped me to simply rest and relax.
Around noon on Saturday, Amber and I headed to the grocery store, returned to put the groceries away, and Alexxis and I settled in for the day. Alexxis slept, and slept, and slept. She's doing wonderful; growing by leaps and bounds just like a beautiful weed. She weighs 10 lbs. and 13 oz. ; is in the 50% weight category, and is now 23 3/4" long --- and is in the 75% range of babies her age in height. I think she's going through yet another growth spurt as momma now has drinking 6 ounces of soy formula. I've began calling her "grammies piglet", LOL! She is doing great all in all; full of smiles and laughter, cooing, and trying to talk to her "friends". {Her "friends" are her Looney mobile hanging above her crib at home and the fishes who live in the FP Aquarium bouncey seat and swing}. And, of course, mommy, daddy, grandma Nancy and I. She's beginning to make the cutest facial gestures, demonstrating both her happy, disappointment, and frustration. Yesterday, she actually grasped one of baby toys for the first time that I am aware of and right into her mouth it went to be further explored.
While Alexxis slept, I browsed through blogsville, discovered inspiration galore and realized just how much I miss creating art. I've been thinking of creating a deco {a small handbound book}, starting another altered book, or painting some background pages for my art journals. Something, anything. I've so many ideas of things I'd like to create, I just need to jump in and begin one.
Having gotten a little sleepy from reading, I took an afternoon nap with Alexxis. Waking up an hour or so later, revitalized and refreshed, I decided to make a pot of vegetable soup for dinner last night. The pot turned to be a bigger pot than I had originally intented, so I won't be cooking today. In fact, I believe I'm going to freeze some of it for the upcoming days I plan to be in the studio.
I haven't yet began working on the quilt. I do need to clear off one of the tables in my studio so I can have a spot to iron the fabric before I start cutting out the blocks I'll need. I'm thinking of maybe setting the sewing machine up in the house so I can work on the quilt inside one days I cannot make it out into the studio or while Don watches TV in the evenings. It would be so much easier to work on it in small increments of time vs. spending long periods of time that I could be working creating art in the studio; so this will work better for me, I think.
Chaos spent the day outside yesterday, actually behaving himself. Him and I had a go-around regarding his barking the other day when I was so frustrated. I feel a little bit guilty about shouting at him and spraying him down with the hose to get him to stop and lay down. However, it worked! He has been so good ever since. I need to make some time for him today, giving him a bath and grooming. He's a bit overdue and it is time for his Advantix tx. I believe I'd like to spent the day here at home, cleaning and catching up so that I can get back to the studio on Monday and Tuesday. We'll see how that goes..... as it will depend upon how restless Don and Chaos are, LOL!
Around noon on Saturday, Amber and I headed to the grocery store, returned to put the groceries away, and Alexxis and I settled in for the day. Alexxis slept, and slept, and slept. She's doing wonderful; growing by leaps and bounds just like a beautiful weed. She weighs 10 lbs. and 13 oz. ; is in the 50% weight category, and is now 23 3/4" long --- and is in the 75% range of babies her age in height. I think she's going through yet another growth spurt as momma now has drinking 6 ounces of soy formula. I've began calling her "grammies piglet", LOL! She is doing great all in all; full of smiles and laughter, cooing, and trying to talk to her "friends". {Her "friends" are her Looney mobile hanging above her crib at home and the fishes who live in the FP Aquarium bouncey seat and swing}. And, of course, mommy, daddy, grandma Nancy and I. She's beginning to make the cutest facial gestures, demonstrating both her happy, disappointment, and frustration. Yesterday, she actually grasped one of baby toys for the first time that I am aware of and right into her mouth it went to be further explored.
While Alexxis slept, I browsed through blogsville, discovered inspiration galore and realized just how much I miss creating art. I've been thinking of creating a deco {a small handbound book}, starting another altered book, or painting some background pages for my art journals. Something, anything. I've so many ideas of things I'd like to create, I just need to jump in and begin one.
Having gotten a little sleepy from reading, I took an afternoon nap with Alexxis. Waking up an hour or so later, revitalized and refreshed, I decided to make a pot of vegetable soup for dinner last night. The pot turned to be a bigger pot than I had originally intented, so I won't be cooking today. In fact, I believe I'm going to freeze some of it for the upcoming days I plan to be in the studio.
I haven't yet began working on the quilt. I do need to clear off one of the tables in my studio so I can have a spot to iron the fabric before I start cutting out the blocks I'll need. I'm thinking of maybe setting the sewing machine up in the house so I can work on the quilt inside one days I cannot make it out into the studio or while Don watches TV in the evenings. It would be so much easier to work on it in small increments of time vs. spending long periods of time that I could be working creating art in the studio; so this will work better for me, I think.
Chaos spent the day outside yesterday, actually behaving himself. Him and I had a go-around regarding his barking the other day when I was so frustrated. I feel a little bit guilty about shouting at him and spraying him down with the hose to get him to stop and lay down. However, it worked! He has been so good ever since. I need to make some time for him today, giving him a bath and grooming. He's a bit overdue and it is time for his Advantix tx. I believe I'd like to spent the day here at home, cleaning and catching up so that I can get back to the studio on Monday and Tuesday. We'll see how that goes..... as it will depend upon how restless Don and Chaos are, LOL!
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