Forbidden Knowledge

I began working on my altered book, "Forbidden Knowledge" after gutting an book titled, "Believe and Be Saved". I felt it was a very appropriate title for the contents of the book that I'll begin adding in more and more along the way. The photograph above is the book cover and structure after I covered it with an embossed leather, stamped the image of Madonna and Child, and created the title piece. I intend to use a lot of symbolism within the pages of this book, so I began working more on the books inner structure by creating two signatures.
This is the first signature, I added the small booklet that I created a few years ago. It has been one of my favorite pieces ever since I created in 2005, and fits into this wonderfully. I collaged this page using Graphic 45 papers, the book, and adding a US White Oak vintage stamp.

These two pages are the insides of the above signatures. The left hand side is a library pocket that the tags actually tuck inside of. I removed them for photographing. The third page is again collaged using the Graphic 45 images. These pages are not completed as of yet, but provide the base for things to come.

This is the last page of signature one and the first page of the second signature.

And this is the inside of the second signature in which I used a variety of stamped images, collage items, and even a piece of packaging from some 7 Gypsies embellishments. I did a little more work on some of the items that I'll be adding into the book, one is a tag book that I'll upload next as I didn't want this post to become too photo-burdened and difficult to load.

An Amazing Day...

The weather has really cooled off here in Ohio over the course of the last several days, with each and every passing day the sunset seems to be arriving just a tad bit earlier. The cooler temperatures in the early mornings and evenings is beginning to bring that smell of fall's crispness to the air that surrounds us. Autumn was very much on our minds while we drove together, on a short road trip, enjoying the sunshine, our time together as we were having a good heart to heart talk about lives, our home, and our business. We couldn't help but to begin to notice the green slowly giving way to light browns and vibrant yellows.

It shouldn't come as any surprise when I say that those feelings were very much on my mind when we stopped into Home Goods today. I suddenly couldn't resist to urge to add a bit more fall color to our home's decor and what a better to do that with a new autumn tablecloth! Of course, the Clove Bud and Citrus Yankee Candle could also have something to do with it. It smells so yummy! I didn't do much good trying to resist those adorable amber-orange colored glass globes either, as they just seemed to waiting to be filled with fall candies, silk leaves, or a candle perhaps.

I also made an "expected" cool discovery! Scrapbook Art open today, under new management and in their new location, where Stampland was once located on Polaris Parkway. You know me, I couldn't resist going in, browsing, and purchasing myself a few things. Isn't this fall beauty precious? It is a Maya Road chipboard tag booklet that I covered with some of the new GCD Studios Designer Papers that I purchased today! I've don't believe that I have ever been so excited about a new product, as I was with this one. It seems I was no sooner in the door when I started working on creating this!

I am also excited that I found some of the Graphic 45 paper! Be still my beating heart! Is that paper ever gorgeous, or what?! I believe some of those wonderful images are definately going to find their way into a booklet that I can implant some where within my altered book. I can't wait until I have some of my thoughts and ideas completed to show you! {*smiles and waves*}

CED ~ 2008 - A Relaxing Day...

Yesterday turned out to be a nice, quiet, relaxing day... I woke early, spent some time blog-hopping a few of my favorite decorating blogs --- you just never know what someone will post that might inspire you! I saw a lot of images of autumn decor popping up here and there and realized I am really looking forward to a change in the seasons. I love busy-ness of summer but I have to admit that I'm loving the idea of slowing down, nesting more, preparing for the slowness of winter... after the "holiday rush" has past, of course.

After chatting with a friend on the telephone, making plans to get together later in the day, I set my sights on cleaning our home and preparing myself for the day that lay ahead. During our conversation, my friend, Elainia and I made plans to check out Hobby Lobby, so when she arrived that was the first place that we headed. We ventured directly into the fabric department, looking at what home decor fabrics are available. My thoughts have been returning to getting started on the couch and loveseat slipcovers and Elainia is considering sewing up a new bedspread --- with my asssistance and sewing machine. I priced some pipping supplies and have been considering adding some to the slipcovers, thinking I'd love to add a splash of red, but am uncertain as to whether red would bled upon subsequent washing, even after a pre-wash. It's something to consider anyways, although I'm uncertain if I really have the skill level that it would require to pull it off. Next, I ventured over and into the threads, I was thinking a strong vinyl thread may be best for sewing these slipcovers, but the selection I found was thin. I did discovered the four spools of thread above, labelled heavy, and thought perhaps I could try them. I have a seam ripper, if they don't work like I envisioning them too. I also priced and looked at a variety of muslin fabrics. Something tells me that perhaps a muslin template for the curved areas of the chair and loveseat arms, might just come in handy. Some of the muslin was inexpensive enough, if I decide I need it in the future.

After shopping, purchasing only the four spools of thread, a first for me inside a Hobby Lobby store!, Elainia and I headed to White Castle's for a quick little lunch. Afterwards, I rode along with her on some of her errands for the day and later in the afternoon was informed the Don would be working all day. Instead of returning home, I visited with Elainia at her home for the majority of the afternoon and early evening. Her hubby was sweet enough to offer to cook us all dinner and asked me to telephone Don to have him come over after he got off of work, which was late. He arrived around 8:30 p.m. and we all had a wonderful dinner. It was wonderful to be able to enjoy a home-cooked meal that I didn't have to cook myself! Around 9:30 p.m., Don and I said our "good-byes", "we had a wonderful time" and made promises to get together to do this again soon. {The next one is on us! {smiles}...

So, all in all,
"Yes, Lisa. I do "sit down and put my feet up" once in awhile" Perhaps, not as often as I could, or should, for that matter, but I do try to "balance" too much activity, going, and doing with things that I love and enjoy. The rest of the items that are in the photograph above are items that I am intending to use in the next several weeks... I've decided it is time to get started on the Altered Book that I desire to create! The postcard book will certainly come in handy for scanning and printing for some Christmas tree decorations and stocking stuffers.

CED ~ 2008 - Tweaking the space...

I played around yesterday afternoon removing and replacing items around the room using only items I already owned gathered up from other rooms in our home. A three piece canister set, a Christmas gift given to me previously, adds a touch of "fall harvest" feel to the curio cabinet's glass shelves. I couldn't part with my book art structures, so I added in a few personal touches of collage art tags to personal the cabinet just a bit more.

Here's more of a straight on shot, after some even smaller changes were made. I turned the images that are displayed on the canisters so that each image could be viewed. Doing so added more pops of color and the faux pears were stolen from the kitchen where they seemed to get moved from one spot to another with ease.

This it the top of the curio cabinet created by relocating many of the items that I previously had within the room. I added the beautiful bronze glazed pot and refilled it with a few of my seashells, more because the colors and textures work here. As to not to add too much more, yet to put a touch more fall color into this vignette, I'm leaning towards adding a wider piece of fall ribbon draped and woven throughout the vignette. I'll need to make a trip out to the studio to gather it up and add to this at a later date. I'm also thinking of creating a "thankful" or "gratitude"banner using shipping tags just to add some additional spice. I think it would be beautiful and work well into Thanksgiving.

I switched the bird cage and the fall floral urn arrangement around when I remembered how the foilage pulled the color scheme out into the room. I also replaced the napkin lining the bottom of the bird cage to a red runner that I sort of folded and scrunched up. It still needs a pop of fall foilage, color, and additional texture so I can be looking for something to add while going through what fall items I have on hand and/or perhaps, pick up while out running errands in the month ahead.

In this cozy corner, I added a framed print taken from our bedroom. I've always loved this image of the little girl gathering flowers that speaks of days gone by leisurely spent in a garden. I desire to change the top of the corner curio cabinet with a punch of fall color: perhaps some faux grapes to go with the wine bottle and a fall-scented candle will do the trick. I can also envision some Indian corn with the husk peeled back tucked in here, hmmm?

The smaller framed print on this table, the one of the vintage girl holding the dove, has been removed and hung on the wall to remove the bare spot over the bird cage and lamp. It works for now and allows me to consider other options for the space as I set about tweaking it more for Autumn in the upcoming month.

Feeling in a "fall mood" after adding all these little touches to the room, I headed to the kitchen to cook up a Savory Slow-Roasted Pork Stew for dinner. Here's my recipe:

Savory Slow-Roasted Pork Stew

1 pkg. of Mc Cormick's Slow-Roasted Pork Crockpot Seasoning

1 pkg. of Mc Cormick's Pork Gravy

2 slices of pork loin

2 1/2 cups of water

2 cups of diced potatoes

1 1/2 cups of sliced carrots

1 1/2 cups of corn

1 cup of green beans

This can be placed in a crockpot a slow cooked over the course of the day, placed in the oven at 350 degrees and baked for 2 1/2-3 hrs., or how I did it in a 5 qt. pot brought to a boil, then simmered for 2 1/2 or so hours. Remember to stir and to add water frequently, the broth will thicken upon cooking down. Just dilute, stir, and check in another 15-20 minutes.

I baked a roll of Pillsbury Buttermilk biscuits with ours. Smoothered in buttery richness! Yum! Enjoy!

Here is what my heart sees,

and, my hands wish they were building...

Before & After's, Trying to make it all work...

This week I decided to take a break from all the studio re-organization and focus my attention back to our home. I quickly discovered that I must try to keep up with it, cleaning and decorating, if I desire to get anything else accomplished anywhere...

Some days, it seems that there so much on my "To Do" list that I'll never get it all accomplished, but I still keep plugging away at it, little by little, doing whatever I can here and there.

On Thursday, I sat dreaming of doing some fall decorating within our home, but before I attempt to do that, I decided that I was ready for a change the layout of our living room. I must admit that I wasn't brave enough to attempt removing all my pretties vignettes and to re-arrange all of our furniture with a 2 1/2 year old Little Miss and Chaos under foot, so I played around with a paper room re-arrangement. At least until Alexxis noticed what I was doing and decided she wanted to play too. Needless to say, that didn't last long either...LOL!

Anyways, the above photographs are my "Before" photos. The first photo shows how I had arranged the room during the spring/early summer. The second photo was taken after the purchase of our new pair of spider back chairs, that we just recently acquired, sitting in the only area that they'd fit at the time!

I'm on the hunt for the perfect circular table to set in between the two of them. Preferably wood with some beautiful details when naked, although I can envision these chair on opposite ends with a beautiful floor length tablecloth, with its wonderful trim spilling out onto the wood flooring, and a co-ordinating topper that will in adding some additional softness in the form of fabrics to the room. I may just resort to stealing one of the patio tables for just a bit, adding the table coverings {oops, did I forget to mention that I've yet to even create those!} and a lamp, a figurine, and a picture frame or flowers perhaps. Anyways, they'll provide one comfortable sitting area somewhere within our home, for the years to come.

As you can see, the before photographs show that this wasn't the most comfortable furniture arrangement. There's definitely too much furniture in this space for anyone to be able to navigate through it successfully. So I continue to struggle to make all these furnishings work in this half of the large rectangular box with it's three doorways, defined traffic patterns, that still enable me to work on and fix what needs fixing, mostly on the opposite end of the room.

I still have the love seat and chair to slipcover, figuring out what exactly to do with the big screen and all its electrical components , before we'll be able to figure out the details on the opposite side of the room. But once done, we be able to utilize the entire 11'6" x 30' space, mixing and co-ordinating all our furniture together. So, it's worth it, yet still a major work in progress. But that didn't stop me on Friday, as I dove in... transforming it from that into this!

It's a big improvement in navigation, yet it still feels a tadbit cramped and crowded. Hopefully, it's just going to have to work for just a little while longer...

One thing that I discovered along the way is that by taking photographs of the space that you're working in, is that you can instantly see areas of the room that are still in need of improving. So I cropped off the top of the photo, to remove the crown modeling, the ugly ceiling, and the ceiling fan --- all items on my "one these days" I want to repair/replace list! For now, cropping was the "instant" fix... until I can find the time to deal with all of the above, LOL!

And I definitely need to do something to that wall niche behind the sofa! This is the south wall that I've placed the sofa upon. It's actually the shortest wall in the entire space and one that I'd not normally consider putting the sofa upon, but with the use of the coffee table and the end stand at the opposite end, it works for now.

By leaving the corner curio in its place, I was able to rearrange the pair of chairs, another end stand, and one of the tropical plants in front of it to create a small sitting area that is both easy to get in and out of. Yet, there's a big bare spot on the wall, next to the corner curio cabinet... hmm, what to fill in there?

Here, againm you can see a "bare spot" on the wall above the lamp, that could use a little "something". Perhaps, a small framed photograph, hung in "landscape" mode? Or what about the birdcage on the coffee table hung on the wall? I can envision it with filled with a fall colored candle and some silk leaves trailing out... perhaps, an empty bird nest filled with feathers and an acorn? That would certainly allow for another fall arrangement to be placed on the coffee table. Oops! and there's that darn "niche" again and the "bare bulb" hanging with its long ago broken globe that's attached to the ceiling fan, that I so desire to replace!

One day, I'm hoping to place the sofa on the opposite of the room. Of course that means we'll needed to purchase and finish the hardwood flooring, cut and stain the trim, purchase a large bound rug........ See, it never truly ends! ROFLOL! Anyway, the wall on the opposite end of the room is so much longer and so much more accommodating for the sofa. And the area where the sofa is now will either be the love seat or a chair with one of the two ottomans and perhaps, the bookcase that I've yet to get painted black. Do you see a repeating pattern here? Yep, it's time to get to work!!! But for now, I'm happy with these small, little changes... a few more touches here and there, lists of items to be on the lookout for finding, supply lists to be made for all the "little" projects... Perhaps, one day this room will be finished, but for now, I'm thinking that's a long way away....

Labor Day Weekend

Don and I had a fantastic time celebrating Labor Day weekend with a couple of our friends. On Sunday, we spent the early evening chatting it up out on the deck while steaks cooked slowly on the grill. Our menu consisted of a wonderful tossed salad, T-bone and ribeye steaks, baked potatoes, and corn. All this seemed to work so easily as we all pitched in wherever needed. We didn't feature a dessert as all of us would have been too full to eat it.

After enjoying the warmth of the day while in the shade, dining in style, we cleaned up briefly before moving inside to sit down at the kitchen table to play a few games of Euchre, while drinking a bit more wine. I don't know what time it was when we all decided to throw in the towel, but I'm certain a great time was had by all! I don't believe I've ever laughed so much in my life! and my friends, we've got to do this again! Soon....

On Sunday, Don and I puttered around cleaning up any remaining evidence from the night before, then decided to take a short road trip and have a nice, quiet, enjoyable evening out. Before leaving town, we made a quick stop into Hobby Lobby so I could pick up a few items I desire to use in my altered book. Afterwards, we were cruising down the highway and on our way to Carrabba's Italian Grill. {No cooking for this chick!} We recently dined at a local Italian place, but let me tell you, there's no comparison between the two.... Carrabba's has got to be my favorite Italian restaurant. Anyways, after a wonderful dinner, a quick stop into Barnes & Nobles for my magazine feticsh, we enjoyed the ride back towards home. As we travelled down the road, we thought we may as well stop and pick up our Spiderback chairs. Aren't those gorgeous? I fell in love in with them as soon as I had seen them.

Apparently the store employees loved them as well, as jokes were made as to who was going to take them home and one employee stated she'd "guarded them with her life", LOL!

Yes, I'm aware that I've probably commited at least 24 of HGTV's Top 25 Decorating Mistakes while attempting to put this room together. Everything from using fake flowers and plants, too many pillows on the sofa, knick-knack overload, ignoring the windows with my curtain rods and curtains "not hanging high enough", to the pushed back furniture and the outdated paneling. Others would include, a lack of traffic flow, lopsided furnishings, and ignoring the foyer but what I've noticed is that they aren't decorating a 11'6"' x 30' rectangular box like I am, LOL! and in a ranch home! Add in the 3 doorways, one being the entrance and "foyer" to our room, a distinct traffic pattern, and attempting the make the box funtion in to two distinct areas, each with a specific function.

We've still a lot obstacles to overcome in this space, but little by little we're it getting there. I've still the slipcovering of our older furniture, creating a "hide the TV and electical apparatous" to build, and a whole lot of renovations and re-arranging to be done to this room. Little by little, as time and money allow, I know one day we'll make this old house the home of our dreams!

Today, I'll be spending some more time in the studio, as the organizational project there continues. I'll be watching our sweet grand-daughter, Alexxis over the course of the next several days, and one Thursday our city's annual Popcorn Festival kicks off with a Parade! So there will be a lot of fun on the horizon... before I'll be settling back in and tackling anything again.