I just love Autumn...

I think Fall is my favorite season. I just love the crispness of the air, Halloween, the changing leaves...I really can't think of anything that I don't like about it! These 4 ATCs are for a "Favorite Season" Mingle for Altered Designs. I sure hope the recipients like Fall as much as I do!

A Diva Dictionary!!!

I belong to a great art group called Altered Divas. We are putting together a Diva Dictionary. My word is divadipity: a diva's good luck in making unexpected and fortunate discoveries. The pages are 5x7, a real nice size!

Halloween Tag Book

I'm participating in a Halloween Tag book in one of my art groups. I love Halloween; it's always been one of my favorite holidays. I think it may be the time of year that I really love!

Oh,to have friends that love mermaids!

What a fun time I had with this RR journal. Judy, the owner of the journal, decided to make a long, thin book about a land called Mermania. I love anything that has to do with the sea. This was my interpretation for her. The pages are back-to-back, so the top photo is the front and the bottom photo is the back.

Oh to live in Mermania!!!

It's been a loooooooooooooooong time...

since I blogged! With the start of the school year, my time has not been my own. My 5th grade class has kept me so incredibly busy. And of course, with that, comes the falling behind of my art commitments. But I was so thrilled today; I had time for art and this is what I was able to complete. This is a 4x4 for a swap in Mail Art (it was actually completed awhile ago. I just completely forgot about it!)

This is for a RR in We Dream In Color. The Journal belongs to Lisa and it is an absolutely stunning book. The detail in her cover is just amazing. The page with the words is the left side and the page with the picture is the right. ENJOY!

What a loooong day!

Getting ready for the new school year is so stressful. We teachers spend weeks (literally) getting things ready for the beginning of the year. I spent the day today getting all the texts and workbooks numbered and at each students desk (I have 34 fifth graders!) And it was so hot in my classroom. You got it; no air conditioning. When will schools catch up to the 21st century?

I had a little time this evening to myself. I made this 3x3 for Barb. Believe it or not, the background is made from the paper towel that my former kindergartners used to dry a water color marker project on. I brought the paper towel home because it was so cool looking. Barb's theme for her 3x3s was "The Artist in You (and me)" and she wanted it done in bright colors. Hope this is bright enough!

This 3x3 is for Christy. She wanted all shades of white and then whitewashed with gesso. It looks really neat in person.

Tomorrow is my last day to work in my classroom to get it ready for the kids. I hope I can get everything done!!!!!

Oh, baby! Some down time!!!!!

What a wonderful feeling! Through the daze of jet lag and the stress of setting up my classroom, I managed to find time for...ART!!! How exciting is that? But of course, what do I make? Those darling little 3 x 3s. I so highly recommend the size. It truly is so much fun to make these!

This one is for Bonnie...

This one is for Donna...

and this one is for Kelly. I had that Helen Reddy song in my head the whole time I was making this!

I'm HOOOOOOOOOOOME!!!!!!!!

And this is how I feel right now! I'm so incredibly tired. Got back from Vermont at 1:30am this morning and woke up at 6:30!!! Oh man; jet lag is awful! I have to get back into my art real soon...or else I'm going to turn into a pumpkin!!!

Sitting in So. Glens Falls, NY

And I keep thinking how it's been DAYS since I was home going art. It's amazing how ADDICTING creating and blogging is. I'm worried that if I don't blog, I'll fall off the face of the earth, although that really wouldn't happen, right?

I'll be going back to California on Tues., Aug. 14th and I can't wait! I'll write soon!!!

Having Direction

I belong to a word Circle Journal with women who scrapbook mostly. They wanted to have the experience of an altered art/mixed media RR so I agreed to do it with them. They are very lovely women and their work is wonderful!

Everyone in the CJ had to pick a word for a theme that everyone needed to focus on. Noelia's word is direction. Here is the spread I made for her.

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...