Quiet art day...

I think all my stars were aligned today because all three of my sons were busy outside the house today. THAT is a rare occurrence. So I tried to mentally prepare myself for spending 8 days with my in laws, Bro-in-Ls and wives and nieces in VT. We're talking about leaving CA at 5:30 in the morning on this upcoming Saturday and arriving in Burlington, VT at 9:30 pm EST. I HATE TRAVELING FOR THAT LONG! I guess I should count my blessings; everyone is alive and healthy. But it's the humidity and the mosquitoes that just BUG the poo out of me!

As I was mentally preparing for my journey, I made the following for my friend Judy. She just found out that her sister in law has terminal cancer. My friend Michelle is going to make a chunky book for her. G_d dammit! I hate getting news like that. At 45 years young, I am very healthy and fit. I can't understand why this happens to people who have children the same age as my own. I still feel 29 (look 45 but feel 29 :O), have hardly any gray hair or wrinkles, and besides high blood pressure which is treatable, I feel great! There before the grace of G_d go I.

What a nice weekend...

After this week, I really needed a nice weekend. I spent Saturday night at a friend's house with with 3 other friends. The five of us drank Bellini's, ate a ton of non-diet food and stayed up until 2:00am playing Maj Jongg and talking crap about our husbands (you know, the girlie kind of crap...) It was absolute heaven. No testosterone making me crazy for 24 hours. When I got home today, all three boys were out and about and DH was cleaning out the garage. I was able to bury myself in my room and get some art done.

Below are two pages I did for my friend Michelle's RR journal. Her theme was Ocean Treasures and her colors were blues, greens and whites. I hope she like this!


These are 3 x 3s (yes, more of them) I did on Friday of last week. Below is Angie's

This is Christine's

and this is Mary's. That's all for today!

And let this be a lesson for you!

Court and teens. Hmmm...seems like a lethal combination, doesn't it? Well yesterday was worth more than I could ever imagine. When sat in the courtroom along with the two teens that we served and their parents (and grandparents...long story). The judge had read thru our case prior and had enough sense to have a mediator there. When our case was called he gave us 2 choices; 1) to have both sides meet with a mediator and try to work this out, or 2) to grant the restraining orders and have children in all three families with criminal records. Of course we all opted for the mediator which is what the grandmother of one of the boys and I tried to work out initially. I jut love this woman...Katie. She is a retired San Fran City Sch. District Spec. Ed teacher. I've known her for many years.

Anyway, we all met with the mediator in a room off the court room. Tony, the boy who attacked my son, sat with his head down the entire time. The look on his face was so pained. I've known him since he was a little boy and I just couldn't believe it was coming down to this. The other boy we served doesn't have too much upstairs, and you know that saying that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree? You got it! His dad was CLUELESS!!!!!

To make a very long story short, it settled nicely. Tony admitted that he was listening to what other people were saying and that he never confronted my son about the "rumors" he was hearing. And, unfortunately, high school is just vicious nowadays. Teens have a vested interest in starting rumors and watching fights. They all agreed to be done with this. They can talk to each other but they cannot say anything negative. They can not call cell phones and leave derogatory messages or use MySpace as a place to spread falsities. And they must respect each others space. If the 2 defendants break this contract, we have the right to press charges. I never want it to boil down to that. I just wanted them all to learn a valuable lesson. I think they all did, however, time will tell.

So in my delirium, this is what I made yesterday. The mermaid below is for Christine.

The French piece is for Linda. I hope they like them!

Tomorrow's the big day...

Tomorrow we go to court for the Order of Protection hearing. From what I understand, we have to wait in the hallway outside the courtroom with the two families we served until we can get into the courtroom. How brilliant is that? There will be no bailiff or sheriff's officer there with us. I'm scared to death of these people. I'llprobably have my family wait in the car until 1:30 when we have to be there.

Today even art didn't make me feel better. I felt like I was on 20 cups of coffee all day. Sure hope the pieces I made don't reflect that. These are 2 more 3 x 3s. The Asian one is for Francine.

This one is for Michelle. I sure hope they're OK...

Life just sucks sometimes...

The past week has been hell! My 15 year old son has been constantly threatened by another boy at school all year. Once the boy did assault him, we actually had to get a body guard for him at school (and yes, the HS was ineffective). Anyway, last Wednesday, my son was at the neighborhood park and this boy, supported by his 10 friends, assaulted my son. His face was a bloody mess. We had to take him to the ER to make sure he didn't need stitches and that nothing was broken. We served a restraining order on the boy and last night, his deadbeat dad literally served us with a restraining order. I was so furious I just screamed.

Anyway, today I needed to make myself feel better and art always does the trick. I'm back making the 3 x 3s for 2 more swwaps. Here's what I made to keep my sanity!

This is for Irrenay...

This is for Judy's daughter, Hazel...

and this is for dear Mija!

I guess I can't get away from these 3 x 3s!

It was hot here today. It's the kind of day that you either go swimming or stay indoors. I did a little of both. But while indoors, I decided to make more of these 3 x 3s. I know at some point I'll probably burn out on them, but for now I'm just loving them. The Red & Black 3 x 3 is for Debby. She just loves vintage images of children and I really enjoyed making this for her. She's a REALLY sweet lady!

And then there's peggy! Anyone who knows her can truly appreciate her sense of humor. Especially in her art. Her theme for her 3 x 3 was Saint _____, Patron Saint of Altered Art. I decided to make Saint Patina, Patron Saint of, well, Patina! The colors in this piece are very rich. Too bad the scan doesn't do it any justice!

My 4 x 4 Mingle for Kelly B.!

This is for Kelly! There is a 4 x 4 monthly mingle on Mail Art By Design. Each month We get partnered and make a piece for that person. Kelly was my partner this month. The theme was Asian. Hope she likes it!!!

Jill's Journal...

This page was such a stretch for me because I do not do Zetti style very often. However, Jill's RR journal sort of lent itself to it. Her theme is "4 Letter Words" and I decided to use MUSE. Her wing arms are made from stamped and embossed metal tape. What a riot to do for her!!!

Meet Shayna Maydel...

She is my art doll for a Round Robin in my Paper Whimsy group. Shayna Maydel (I'm Americanizing the spelling) means "beautiful girl" in Yiddish. My grandmother used to call me that all the time. Her hair is glued on with fabric glue and supported with a copper coin holder! She'll be traveling with her journal to tell me about her trip. Can't wait to see what she looks like upon her return!

Here are some more of the Holiday 3 x 3s for the swap...

This swap was an absolutely wonderful idea. Here is my piece for Sanna's May Day...

Here is Cat's Winter Solstice...

Here is Heather's Vintage Christmas. this was tough because of the colors she chose. It was a good challenge for me!

The last three are posted below...

The last of my 3 x 3's...

Here are the last of my 3 x 3s for the Holiday swap. This is my Vintage Christmas for Michelle...

This is my Vintage Christmas for Carol...

and this is my Vintage Christmas for Debby.

And there ain't no more!

Beautiful sunny California...

was cold and cloudy today. At least where I live. VERY unusual weather, so what do you do when you can't enjoy the sun? You go make art!!! This is a tag I made for a Paper Whimsy tag book based on a poem written by one of the members. The poem is on the back of the tag.

This is my 3 x 3 for Jillian. Her theme is Mardi Gras. I didn't have a mask or feathers, but I did have the beads. And I didn't plan their placement; they just fell there!

Again, those 3 x 3's keep coming!

I swear, I can't get enough of these. They are sooo much fun to make. What I really need to do is make them for myself. I just keep giving these things away. Here they are:

For Peggy:

For Christine:

For Paula:

For Barb:

For Donna:

Halloween in July...

I can't believe that I'm doing Halloween ATCs in July. These are for the ARTchix Halloween Faux Post contest. I haven't been active on that group for awhile because of work and family commitments. But I just LOVE these contests. We'll see if I win a spot on the sheet...

They came 3 x 3...

I'm in a 3 x 3 swap with 12 other people from my Altered Art Swap yahoo group. We make one 3 x 3 for each participant according to their theme and color scheme. I have to tell you that these are EXTREMELY ADDICTING and very fast to make (unless you're me and you are anal retentive about just about EVERYTHING!) I had to publish these into 3 different posts because of memory. So after reading this, you can scroll down and see the other 10.

For Tamara...

For Rosalie...

And more 3 x 3's...

For Debby...

For Jennifer...

For Michelle...

For Patricia...

For peggy...

And more 3 x 3's...

Here are the last 5.
For Christine...

For Angie...

For Barb...

For Carol...

For Christy...

Finished my Nudes journal...

I just finished my nudes journal for a new RR. This is the inside of the back cover. The next photo is my introduction page.

This next photo has nothing to do with my journal. I'm in a swap where 38 abandoned photos from the graduating class of 1938 are getting a new look with made up bios and everything. Walter, my classmate, had some damage to his photo, hence, the blue dot on his face. What a thing to have to work around! That's why he's a clown; no one will notice his blue spot among his spotted suit!