Zenartics

We are on the last letters of the Diva Dictionary in my Altered Art Divas group. I had the letter Z. I was going to do Zestafarian or Zestfest, but I wasn't able to think of how to art it. I'm trying to practice "Zenartics" in my life, hence, the dictionary page!

Lazy, hazy days of summer...

Here are my Moo cards for July. The theme color was BLUE. I'm doing the Gothic Arch swap in Paper Whimsy. I already made 3 for the swap, and I decided to make 3 more.


That's all for now!

Happy July 4th!!!

I hope that everyone is having a wonderful day filled with family and friends. It's raining here; the only fireworks we'll see will be on the TV. Oh well..... I'm participating in a Black and White Zetti style 4x4 book that we, as a group, will be submitting to Somerset for theirBlack and White art call. We needed to use our hometown newspaper as the background. The top one was my first one and I started to lose momentum after awhile. It just didn't come out the way I saw it in my head.
Now this one I LOVE! Not quite as Zetti-ish, but it flows better for me. I'm going to send both to Barb, who is putting the book together.
These are the first Moo cards that I've ever done. Live and learn. I find this to be a hard size to work with, but I was up for the challenge!
I think next month's Moos will be easier to do (I hope).

Kristin is having a giveaway!

Kristin Hubick from Retro Cafe Art is having a giveaway on her blog. It is in honor of two special angels in her life. I think it's so important to acknowledge the people who bless our lives in some way. What would we do without the kindness of others?

Go visit her blog; she has some great items for sale as well!

Carol's Zetti

Carol's Zetti for our Altered Art Swap Tip-in. The tune to the little ditty below is the song from Sesame Street. You know..."One of these things is not like the others..." Problem is, the tune stays in your head so be careful!
I learned how to make a panorama so I can upload Round Robin journal pages side by side. I think the quality is going to be compromised, so I uploaded the pages one at a time too!

Flea Market

I woke up yesterday morning not really feeling that great. I had gone to a friend's house for a Sex and the City girl's night and had a few too many Mojitos. Sunday morning was tough! But I promised myself that I would find this flea market, so after 2 cups of coffee and some Advil, off I went!

I was very disappointed when I made it there The threat of rain was great and when 3 teeny, tiny droplets fell, the vendors started closing down. Now I drove 20 miles and 30 minutes with a hangover! The nerve of these folks to pack up and leave!

As I proceeded to the exit, I recalled seeing a sign for an indoor flea market. As I started to drive in the direction I came, I did find the sign again (on the opposite side of the road; picture me stretching my neck and turning around to read the darn thing while I was DRIVING!!!!!) Soooo, I turned around and headed in that direction.

Lo and behold, there it was. I parked and went inside, much to my dismay... AGAIN!!! There were hardly any vendors there. I figured I'd take a quick walk just "to look". As I approached this one booth, I noticed some original German scrap that was just too pricey for me. But as I dug deeper into this woman's things, I found some real treasures!

Below are the following: a People's Home Journal from 1911 that I got for $1.00; a "Common Sense Reminder" ~the reminder with a conscience! (I swear that's what it says) also for $1.00; a Promiscuous Examples math notebook from 1889 for $2.00; and lastly a set of 5 tissue-paper paper cuts that were from 1940's. These were also hand dyed and were the most expensive at $10/5, but they are absolutely amazing.
Inside each item. I love the add for Macy's all the way on the right.


I thought I did fairly well considering my proximity to NYC. Any suggestions on how to adhere the paper cuts without making the ink bleed? Feel free to leave suggestions.

The Blue Ridge

This is for Dorothy's Blue Book. I love the idea of Altered Books, but I have such a hard time working in them. I really love a FLAT surface!!!!! If you click on the photo, you can read the poem.

A day in the life...

Hoops and Yoyo had a big day!!! They came with me to meet Megan; we were all soooo excited. Here they are all strapped in and ready to go!!!

Here is Megan's daughter, Pippa, enjoying their company. Is this what they mean by wet behind the ears?
Corbin thought it would be fun to have them drive across the kitchen counter. Vrooom! Corbin and Pippa enjoying their company! OMG!!! They're acting like they NEVER saw a boob before!
Hoops and Yoyo get RAK-ked!
The wonderful and amazing Megan with delicious Pippa (and me!)What a wonderful day!!!!!

Hoops and Yoyo's busy day!!!

Hoops and Yoyo had an incredibly busy day yesterday. They had a wonderful time at work with me. First, they helped me check inventory...

Then they had fun testing out the stemware. Cosmo anyone?

They each picked out their favorite Vera Bradley pattern. You can tell they know artists; they match their bags perfectly!!!
They also went grocery shopping (they loved squeezing the melons), child schlepping and errand running. We went to a meeting last night and got home real late. They were very hyper from being over tired, so Gary decided to read to them from John Adams.
I know it put me to sleep!!!

Tomorrow they meet Megan and Pippa!!! ROAD TRIP!!!!!

Hoops and Yoyo finally arrive!!!

If you folks know peggy then you know all about Hoops and Yoyo's Big Adventure. They just arrived from England and they are exhausted, but extremely happy to be out of the box. They have to come to work with me today, so I'm going to let them rest a bit. How exciting is this????? I have been waiting for them for days!

Magazine and Gesso

I'm participating in a Magazine and Gesso Mingle in my Altered Designs group. The technique comes straight out of Bernie Berlin's book and was one I've never done before. You find a picture in a magazine and make it into an atc. Cover the picture LIGHTLY with gesso and let dry. After it dries, trace the picture with a fine black permanent marker. Fill in the picture using paints, colored pencils, neon gel pens and whatever suits your fancy. Once you've done that, you can go back over the black lines.


Now, I personally like the way these came out. AND, they were a LOT OF FUN to make. I don't think I'll make it a practice of doing this technique, but once in a while, for a change of pace, it'll be fine!

Bloom

The weather was GORGEOUS today. Low humidity and the high temps were gone. What a great day to just breathe the air (without sweating!!!)
This ATC is for a TGIF ATC Mingle in the Altered Designs group. The theme is "Bloom Where You Are Planted". The stem and leaves are made out of natural materials I found laying around my studio. It's not a particularly complicated piece, but it does have a lot of texture to it. Just a fun happy piece!

K and L

I'm in a Tip-in Alphabetica group and this month I had to do Frieda's K and L pages. Her theme is Art and Creativity. A word for the letter "K" was NOT EASY to come up with!!! I had so much trouble with this page. The word Kaleidoscope was originally done with different sized and colored letters and I didn't like it! So as I 'oh so carefully' removed the letters, the background ripped...AAARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH! Now what? Had to add more to cover my mistake. Then the bottom looked too finished and the top looked too empty. Hence, the sequins. Kaleidoscope has several definitions: 1. a continually changing pattern of shapes and colors.
2. a continually shifting pattern, scene, or the like. I think this definitely fits the bill!!! There is just something about the flow of the piece that I'm not happy with...and it took me all morning to do this! "L" was a whole other story. Frieda LOVES TO SEW (please visit her blog; her link is on the right. Her work is AMAZING!!!!!) I actually did this page first because using Lace for Frieda was like giving her a gift. The photo is of my great aunt and uncle, who, unfortunately, I never met. They perished in the Warsaw Ghetto. I love this photo...I have it on one of my RR jourals.
I have to go to work. Damn! I could have done art all day if given the chance!!!

Fairies of the Mushroom Patch

This spread is for Jen's We Dream In Color RR journal. Her theme was Monochromatic and most colors were done by the time I received the journal (I'm on the tail end of this journal's journey). I chose yellow because it reminds me of sunshine; you know, how we always used to color a yellow sun when we were kids! The images I used are from Lisa's Altered Art.

Paper Whimsy Gothic Arch Swap

I did the first PW Gothic Arch Swap a while back and I loved the arches that I received. I figured I'd do this one too since they are fun to make. Unfortunately, I didn't clean my scanner first and I probably should have!~LAL...Live and Learn!

Lisa Vollrath Image Countdown

Lisa Vollrath does great freebie image giveaways:

http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/05q.html

This one is for Father's Day. Go check it out!!!

For a Friend

4x4 for a friend who needs some cheering up!

Jill's Sunset Journal

Jill is such a great friend and her journal is STUNNING. All the spreads are serious eye candy; I decided to do something simple because every spread in her journal is over the top gorgeous! It needed something tranquil. Her colors are the colors of the SUNSET. What a joy to work in this color scheme...my favorite colors!!!

Happy Memorial Day...

I had time to work in a RR journal today. Megan's book colors are orange and pink; the other pages are just beautiful!!! It's kind of hard to read the words, but it says, "In the world from which they came their beauty went unmatched."

Two More Fabric Pages

Sweet Barb honored me!!!

I am always so touched by her sweetness! According to Barb I am to pass this award on to five (?) people. So, here I go...

Beth

Jill

Tamara C.

Elizabeth

Carol S.

Ladies...it's well deserved!!!

Fabric RR

Poor Missy...I owed her these fabric pages last month. But between the move, unpacking and getting bronchitis, my fabric Muse just wasn't working for me. I felt terribly about it. She was so sweet about it!.

Her theme was Fairy Babies and her colors were pink and turquoise. I really enjoyed making these pages, I think because I was finally ready to make them. I love the way the came out. What I did notice, though, is that I can't sew a straight line!!! And to think that I make quilts!!! Scary.....

Nothing a little art can't cure!

I want to thank everyone who sent or posted a message to me about my brother and the AIDS epidemic. I really felt a need to remind everyone that AIDS does not discriminate; it will take us just as easily as it did my brother and all our loved ones. Please give to your local AIDS foundation.

I did get inspired yesterday to do some creating. My brother was an amazing artist and musician, and sometimes I just feel him near me and everything just flows. These 2 pages are for Dorothy. Her journal colors are blue and brown and she likes birds, flowers and children. She wanted us to try to write a haiku. Mine is there, but it probably should have been placed on the other page. The pages do go side by side; however, I think I missed the boat on this one. Live and learn...