Need I say more?

He is eating well, and using the litter box. We clipped the sharp ends of his tiny needle claws and he seems to be adapting quite well to his new surroundings.


A full tummy and it's nap time.

How cute is this? Just wanted everyone to know that we have a new member of the family. I was used to 12 to 15 pounds cats jumping in my lap. This little guy is light as a feather and as fluffy as one too. I hope he grow up to be a big cat. Haven't decided on a name yet, but I'm sure something will stick soon. So far, it's just been "Buddy". DH went to the flea market yesterday and there were kittens for free. He checked him out, as to how healthy he looked, the size of his tail and such and when he saw a family headed lickety split for the kittens, he scooped him up and called me. What else could I say? "Bring him on home with you, Darling. If you like him, I'm sure I will." I sort of wish we could have gotten two, but I think he will be ok on his own. We haven't made his vet appointment yet, but that will be very soon.

So that's all for today. I didn't get much work done on the coiled purse, because I didn't want to leave him upstairs alone and I need to kitten proof my art area before letting him explore. I promise this will not turn into a kitty kat blog, but I will be posting pictures of him periodically. So take care and start thinking of names.

The Caped Crusader

Friday night, DH and his BBF (Best Bro Friend) went to a local outdoor event to listen to a band that they know. On the way, BBF looks in the rear view mirror and said to DH, "Man, the BatMobile is behind us!" DH turned around and sure enough coming up, getting ready to pass them, was the BatMobile. Talk about freaky! DH says it was surrealistic, to be sure.

George Barris, the designer of the BatMobile and many other famous vehicles was in town. He was appearing as special guest for the Star City Motor Madness. This is our yearly cruise for the car enthusiasts. It's always so crowded that we don't usually attend, so I'm really glad that they got to see it.

On the art front, I'm still making baskets. Need a basket for your coffee filters? Check this out.


It was the perfect size and DH said it was really cute. I made this from some fancy denim I had on hand. I did go to Jo Ann's and got fabric to make a purse, so after a few days, I should have a picture of that. I've run out of cord, so a trip to the hardware store is necessary, but that's one of my favorite places, so that's no chore..

In the mean time, enjoy the rest of the weekend, and stay cool, man.


Oh, Yikes! The Hubby just called, he is bringing home a kitty...Got to run!

First coiled project

The first project in my new book (the one that I cut the strips for the other day)


is a plate. It is about 10-1/2" in diameter and slightly turned up on the last few rows. I completed it in one day. Such a fun technique, you will love it. Think about a smaller version of the braided rugs that your mom or gran had in her house and you will get the idea.

These are made to be more decorative than serviceable, although you could sponge them off if they get soiled. The author says not to machine wash the finished project. Mainly because the raw edges of the strips would fray. I think I would like the homespun look that frayed edges would give a piece like this one. For purses or baskets, I can see where a cleaner look would be more desirable.

Here is a close up of the zig-zagged coils...


Expect to see more of these projects from me in the near future. The coolest part of this technique is the fact that you can lift the coiled area as you sew them and they take on different slants depending on the angle of your hand and start to form deep baskets and cylinder type shapes. Such fun.

If you like to zig-zag and need an easy, stress free project, and would enjoy spending several hours cutting the strips and wrapping the cord, this is the technique for you. I had a blast just doing this practice piece. Get the book, it is well worth it. Well written with great directions and pictures. Thumbs up from me.

Well that's it for now. Take care and enjoy your day!

This is a hoot!

I read a lot of stuff on MSN and one of the things they have on today is a batch of videos that have been overdubbed with crazy lyrics to videos that we loved (or loved to hate) I just watched Total Eclipse of the Heart and about split my sides laughing. Got five minutes? Check it out.

Altered artists, thrift store, flea market and antique mall

That's some of what we did this weekend. Saturday afternoon I met with some artist friends at the library to see what everyone was up to. Everyone had great things for our show and tell portion, then we settled in to work on individual projects. I left a bit early, but we all had a nice time chatting, cutting, painting, and such.

My next project is a fabric basket, so I spent my time cutting strips of cotton fabric. This will be wrapped around cotton clothesline, and sewn on the machine into a basket.

Today, the hubby and I went to the flea market where he got some good deals on old movies and a book...

Then we went to an antique mall, about 15 miles from home. While the hubs went through records, I found some very pretty handmade doilies for $1.00 each. Add this to the Liz Claiborne leather hand bags that I got at the thrift store Thursday for $2.00 a piece and I'd say, all in all, we found some really good deals.

I'm thinking about painting something on the handbags. I've done fabric painting before, but not leather. Should be fun, but I'm not getting any vibes about design. What would look good on these bags? The backs are solid with plenty of space for art. Put on your thinking caps and tell me what ideas you have.

Well, that's it for today. I hope you all had a great weekend and that the Dads in your families were shown a lot of love. Take care and gear up for the week. Hope its a good one. We'll talk soon.

Check out this contest

I've been so busy working on projects that I almost forgot to mention the contest that Artbeads.com is sponsoring. It is called Use the Muse. It is a beading design contest where you order a kit that contains the same assortment of beads and such as everyone who enters. There is a mystery muse component that you must keep secret until the "Big Reveal". Then everyone gets to see what the muse is and shots of what the others did with their kit.

I'm not going to have time to participate, but I thought some of you might like to know that this is happening. Once again, I'm sorry for not posting it sooner, but you know how it is sometimes. Here is what the folks at Artbeads say...

The contest was created by Scarlett Lanson who has a regular column in Beadwork magazine and has won some prestigious contests herself. She placed first in the 2009 KGI Wordwide Design Contest and fourth place in the 2007 Swarovski “Create Your Style” competition. Scarlett’s goal was to create a competition for all types of beaders; stringers, bead weavers, and embroiderers, that had a shortened timeline and a big payoff. There are some very nice prizes including prizes for first through third place and ten category prizes. The cost for the entry kit is a very reasonable $30 plus $5 for shipping in the US and $10 for international entrants.

One important thing to note is that there are a limited number of kits available and they will likely be gone before the order deadline of June 27. So, if this sounds like something you would like to do please keep this in mind. Plus, the sooner you sign up, the more time you will have to work on your design before the July 18th entry deadline.

To learn more and check out what happened in the first Use the Muse II contest, visit Scarlett’s blog here:

http://www.thebeadersmuse.com/use-the-muse-contest2/

Just saying Hi...

I promise this the last post about dragons. In regards to said birthday present, periodically during the sculpting, my Darling Hubby has been quizzing me about the creative process. Why are you using that type clay? Wouldn't some other type of clay work as well? Why didn't you do such and such? After several discussions of this type, we decided that he would also sculpt a dragon for our friend's birthday. He researched several web sites and found instructions that really appealed to him.

Today we went down into the art cave and picked out colors of polymer clay. Armed with his instructions, new clay and the electric pasta machine, I showed him how to condition clay and gave him my polymer clay tools. He asked several questions, but for the most part he just jumped right in and made his dragon.

As you probably know by now, dragons come in all sizes and styles. I think he did a great job on his and I know the birthday girl will love it. If you like it and are interested in creating this little dragon, be sure to click here.

Ok, enough with the dragons already, I am in the mood to make jewelry again, so while DH was sculpting, I grabbed a favorite book called Polymer Clay Techniques by Sue Heaser to get inspiration. This book is great for folks new to polymer clay, or even experienced clayers that need inspiration. Hmm, I think I know one of the artists in this book. Yes, within the pages there are several great pieces by the lovely and talented Marie Segal. I hope you have time to visit her website and then make your way over to her blog.

As I said, the next projects will be jewelry related and I also want to share this web site with you. I didn't realize Softflex had such a great site. There are free projects galore and great ideas and I just happen to have a bunch of their wire in my stash.

Be on the lookout for wire creations that I will be combining with polymer beads. I am thinking of doing a funky necklace using some of the beads that I made some time back, with no particular project in mind. I have lots of that kind. I went for a period of about two years, where all I made was polymer clay beads. No jewelry, just beads, so I have a bunch saved up. I have so many ideas running through my head, I really need to get out my notebook and sketch some of them out.

Well, that's it for today. It's still rainy here, so I'm not sure what we'll get into. Enjoy your day, no matter what the weather. Take care and have a great week.

TA-DA!

edited to add a link to an earlier post...

I told DH I wouldn't say any more than that, but he knew that was not possible. That's probably why he shook his head and laughed. Anyway here is the finished sculpture.

click for a better view

As I said in an earlier post, I am not that into dragons. My dear friend is though and has a collection, so I wanted to do my best for that reason. I started this project May 1st and finished it June 14th. I started out sculpting the head from Creative Paperclay and after refining the head, I started on the body. I used craft wire and wrapped it in masking tape and added the clay to that, letting it dry in layers and building from there.

After it was completed, I was going to paint it in what I thought was the traditional dragon color, green, but he looked too much like a frog. After several false starts, I decided he needed to be one color, so I spray painted him with 18K gold plate paint and called it complete.

DH suggested white for the claws and horns and helped me with the stand. The stand is an inexpensive wooden plaque that I got from Michael's. I base coated it in black and faux finished with copper and gold metallic paints. The sculpture is supported by a dowel attached in his tummy and glued into a hole in the base. This hole was very professionally drilled by my carpenter hubby with a butterfly bit. Fancy, huh? Hope you like it.

Well, that's it for today. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and get ready for Monday!

Up and Up Do and What's Up

Went to see UP today. I really liked it, but don't want to spoil it for anyone. We saw it in 3-D, so that was cool. If I had seen it as a child, I would have been anxious during several scenes, but kids today are much more savvy than we were at the same age. Can't go wrong with a Pixar movie, so if you want to learn more, click here.

I'm not sure if I mentioned, but now that I have gotten back to my natural color hair, I'm trying to grow out the length. If you have ever tried this, you know what a hassle it is. My usual trick to avoiding the hassle is shown in this picture. Can you guess what it is?

Let me know what you think it is and I'll respond in my comment section in a couple of days.

In the meantime, here is a shot of a cute guy that visited us this week. My hubby is a musician, singer, and actor and has musician friends and such, and this one let me smooch him on the cheek.

He is just too cute. DH had some neat toys waiting for him, and he is a little ham anyway, so they plopped a rock-n-roll cowboy hat on him and he was happy to pose for me. I made sure to send a goody box of beads and fun stuff back for his sister. Ahh, the joys of other people's kids.

Well, I have been pretty busy with my sculpture and will just show one last picture before the big reveal. Don't be alarmed by this next shot...


I have never done a sculpture using an armature before and I have had such fun. Some might think this was a bit elaborate for a first project, but what I didn't know didn't hurt me. First time with paper clay, also. I like it, although it does take some getting used to. Hopefully in the next few days I can get the front arms attached and start painting.

Well, that's it for now. I hope to not be so long between posts. When this art project is done, I'll have more time. I have even been dreaming about this project. Whew, I'll be glad when it's done, but in a way I will miss it. This may sound silly, but I feel like I have gotten to know this silly little sculpture as I worked on it. Is this how it is with you? Just wondering.

Ok, off to see what else I can get into. Take care and enjoy what is left of hump day.

Few words

Since I cleaned the messy table and moved all my polymer clay stuff into the laundry room...

I have been working mostly on the birthday gift. I am currently rethinking the legs of this creature, so that is slowing me down...


I thought I might fill in with some previously made items. I know not everyone is into jewelry, so maybe those folks might enjoy seeing some...

decorative vessels and a tile

And if that's not your thing, maybe some...

Buttons

Or maybe family portraits are more your thing...

My Grandma had long hair that she wore up, but took down every night before bed and braided. I thought it was very snake like...

Maybe you are more into flower mosaics...

made in the traditional fashion with polymer clay pieces for tiles

That's all for today. Clothes to wash, sculpting to do, book to read...I hope you are all doing something fun. We had thought about going to see Land of the Lost, but after reading reviews of it, may have changed our minds. They have altered the original story line quite a bit and it is no longer suitable for kids. Ahhh, well.

Anyway have a great weekend and enjoy the weather, whatever it is. We'll talk soon.