You call that art?

This first piece just came from some emotions I was experiencing this weekend. It relates to an issue that we are currently dealing with. Mostly one that my hubby is dealing with, but when you wrong my DH you wrong me, whether you know it or not. Enough about that, here's the picture that came about from my silent musings.

After a lovely weekend with my hubby which included eating vegetable soup and watching great black and white movies, I was able to smooth out some and create a bit of seasonal art. This was based on a photo I took last year of our backyard. I'm not sure if it is completed yet. Sometimes I just have to prop a piece of art up and walk by and look at it for a while. If it pleases me, I start to ignore it. If not, eventually I will decide what I else I think it needs and go for it. Until then here it is...

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I hope you did the things you enjoy and kept the company of the ones you love best. Have a great week, take a deep breath and relax.

Becky's Challenge

Becky, from Wonders Never Cease has challenged us to post an '80's picture of ourselves. Are you up to the challenge? I thought so. I posted both of these almost one year ago, but what the hey! Looks like it's time again.

Here's what the hubby was doing in 1987...

He's the one on the right in the silver spandex!

Here I am right before the show. "That's right, I'm with the band, jealous?"

...just so you'll know, I'm 34 in this picture...

Sorry these shots aren't any better. But if you click on the picture, you can see the tear drop stickers I have on my face. Was I a hoot, or what?

Ok, Becky, there you go. Just remember...you asked for it!

Hello there,

Well, I had quite a weekend. The "tennis elbow" ended up being muscle aches from a bug that hit me full force Saturday morning. I don't know why it took over a week to hit me. Anyway, I have an aversion to throwing up, even when I try, so I didn't get the relief that I needed. My tummy hurt so badly. I did the usual trips back and forth to the little girls room, but mostly stayed in the bed Saturday and Sunday. Woke up Sunday evening feeling as if nothing had ever been wrong. I have a new respect for folks that have illnesses. I am never sick and probably haven't been for twenty years, so I just didn't know what was even wrong with me. My DH wanted to take me to the hospital, because as we know, heart attacks in women have symptoms that are sometimes confusing. I scared him so badly. I'm sorry darling, really I am. I don't mean to sound like a drama queen, but I'm one of those folks that has a very high pain threshold and things have to be really bad for me to slow down.

But I'm all better now and back to work in the studio. I had to take a picture of my table. I don't understand it at all. I sewed for six weeks at this same table and at the end each day there wasn't as much as a thread out of place. But two days of doing polymer clay led to this...



So instead of cleaning it up, I made just enough room on the table for another project. I am currently in love with gemstones and glass. This little beauty is created from jasper teardrop shapes combined with smooth wine colored glass bead that I put onto gold tone wire links.



I always like to share little tips with my friends. After being under the weather I felt a bit shaky and found it difficult to retrieve the jewelry findings from their hidey holes. I came up with an easy way to pick out my eye pins from their little area in the storage box. I used a tapestry needle, and picked them up with that. I don't know if I have ever mentioned that I have very bad close up vision and most of the time have to work under a magnifying glass, so any idea that I can use to pick up small elements is always implemented.



So that's all from me for today. I am feeling good and thanking God for my health and praying for those that are ill. Take care of yourself and try not to get the "bug".

Gasp, cough, gulp

Oh my, I cannot believe that it's been an entire week since I posted. I have been a "poor me baby" this week. Wah. My elbow hurt all week and I didn't do anything that would delay the healing of whatever is wrong with it. I thought that I could safely antique some polymer clay elements and apparently popped a blood vessel in my hand while doing that. I have no idea how that happened, but I've had a huge bruise on my finger all week, as well. So you can see that my plan of resting the hand hasn't worked so well. Since I'm going crazy from not doing something creative, I made this little necklace last night.

Pardon the helmet hair, friends, this picture is to show the necklace. I saw a similar piece in the J. Jill catalog and said to my hubby, I could make that in 10 minutes, so that's what I did. Just saved my self $39.00. I had previously wire wrapped a bunch of beads and used them in a bracelet. It never really felt right on my arm and I disassembled it and kept the dangles for a future project. This was so easy, I used inexpensive leather "string" from Michaels and just strung an element and tied a knot through the jump ring part of the element to keep it from shifting on the leather. I made it long enough to wrap around twice and just tied the ends together. This picture doesn't really show how cute the necklace is.

This would be a great way to use charms and other dangles that you have, or you could plan it out and make specific dangles for that favorite outfit.

Speaking of favorite outfits, I watched Project Runway last night for the first time and I loved it. I saw the episode where they made outfits from newspapers and several of them were fabulous. Have you folks been watching this show from the start? What have I missed and how could I have not known about the coolness factor of the challenges?

Well, this weekend will be spent doing little projects like sketching and doodling and tidying up in the studio. I hope you all have something fun to do, or at least to keep you occupied and out of trouble. My Mom used to always say, when I was doing one of my infamous projects "well, at least it keeps her off the streets". She was joking, because I was such a homebody and always so happy to be tucked inside reading or drawing, crocheting or sewing. It was my sister that "always kept the roads hot", meaning that she loved to go, she would "go" at the drop of a hat and even a ride around town after dinner was an adventure. She is still like that, so next month when we visit, I can count on a lengthy ride around her favorite places, being shown things that she finds interesting...like a larger than life figure made out of vehicle mufflers. With her you just never know.

Well that's it for today. I'll try to be a better blogger and post more often. Enjoy your weekend and hug someone you love, and tell them it's from me.

Happy Friday

Just a quick post to say hi and to wish you a weekend full of fun. Even though fall is in the air, the weather is still warm. I am still feeling the "settle in for the winter" hints that my pea brain keeps sending. I want to crochet, but my silly little ole elbow keeps hurting when I do. I guess I'll just not start any large projects until I figure out why.

This yarn is 100% sugar cane and is hand dyed in Chile by Araucania Yarns. Do a search for Ruca Multy if you are interested in it.

Small projects can be fun so I designed this little cuff bracelet, added some beads and a handmade polymer button. If you have a friend that can't wear jewelry because of metal sensitivities, this is the perfect solution. Can't wear wool, no problem, this yarn is made from sugar cane. This cuff is about two inches wide from the scalloped side to the straight side and can be made as long as you choose.

Can't crochet? Do the pictures in the books you have not make a bit of sense? Check out this YouTube tutorial that I found. There are lots of crochet videos on YouTube, but this one shows the exact way that I learned and so I'm figuring you can learn from it. Seriously, if you do want to learn to crochet, remember this, the foundation row of chain stitches and the first row of other stitches are usually the most difficult to do, so keep at it until you learn and try not to get frustrated. I've been crocheting for years, and I can still relate to the difficulties of getting started.

Well, that's it for me today. Have a great weekend

Mica Shift, Bling and String

I have heard all my life that you are only as good as your tools. This means using good brushes and paper when you start out as a painter. It means using nice yarn for beginner knitting projects. It certainly means using the right ingredients when you bake. All that being said, it really applies to polymer clay. I have always been enthralled by the look of the mica shift technique using metallic polymer clay. I have been playing with polymer clay since the early 90's and I have never been able to make the mica shift technique work. After a while you decide it's you and stop trying. I know, I know... Any who, last week I absentmindedly reached for a conditioned piece of silver Premo and started working it around in my hand. I first thought it had picked up some darker clay or even some paint in it, because it was showing swirls and lines and all kinds of designs as I kneaded it.

TAA, DAA, light bulb moment!! That's not junk in the clay, it's the elusive mica shift. It wasn't me after all, it was the clay I was using. Folks, Sculpey III metallic clay doesn't seem to work with the technique. It's cheaper, but that's not always better. Now I get it. Now I see how it works. I was so happy when I realized it wasn't me that I ran to Michaels to get more Premo. Hmmm, they were out of gold and silver. Am I the last person to discover this truth? Off to A. C. Moore to get some Premo metallics. Plenty on the shelves there.

Ok, Ok, I promise not to drag this on forever. Here is a heart pendant that I made using this fabulous technique.



My friends, this is done with silver Premo. That's right, just one color clay and you can get this look. This piece has been wet sanded smooth (which I love to do) and it looks great. There are several ways to do this and I'm sure my expert friend, Marie, (who is responsible for the development of Premo clay by Sculpey, and gulp, I can actually say I know her) could give us lots of insight. I used a technique similar to this one that I found on Polymer Clay Central. I hope you will try out this fabulous and surprising polymer clay technique. Remember it's all about the tools, kids.

The bling in the title of this post comes my recent infatuation with all things HotFix. I decided to try my new Bejeweler tool again, this time taking more care about my work area. I got out my supplies and placed everything in a box, to contain wayward stones and placed my work on a sheet of shelf liner that actually keeps beads and such from rolling around.

I should have done this with my previous project, but I was too excited to take the time to do things correctly. Once again, it's all about the tools.


So here you see my watch with a leather band that needed some sparklies. I taped the watch to the shelf liner to keep it flat and placed the stones on one at a time. I did somewhat better this time and like the result.

Less than 10 minutes later I have it partially done and...


In about 30 minutes I have a new watchband. (That's the fun of taking pictures of your watch, you can actually time yourself-another one of my self challenges).

In case you are wondering where I got the idea of HotFix rhinestones, Art Beads.com has a wonderful program that I am part of, which allows me to try different beads and such and make a blog post about the them. I am sometimes hesitant to give a less than glowing review about the beads that they supply, because as you can tell from my mica shift experiences, I sometimes tend to think it's my own ineptitude. But, the whole purpose of the program is to get the opinion of real beaders and find out how their company can better meet the needs of their customers.

After seeing my post and reading about some of the challenges that I had with the rhinestones, they have given me several helpful tips and are sending me a tool , called a jewel setter, that will help in picking up the stones for easier placement.

Well, now onto the string in my title. I can rarely create a new piece of jewelry without being reminded of the comment that someone made, several years ago, about a necklace that I had designed. I was very proud of it and was showing it to some friends and this person said, "oh, you just strung that". Whether she was dismissing it because I had not made the beads, or whether it was because it was not an elaborate technique, I will never know. While that person is now out of my life, the phrase did have a lasting effect on me. Now, I always stop and think before I make a comment on something I am being shown.

This piece is one that I strung using large beads that I got at a local bead show last year. I have looked at them and thought about them for well over a year and finally put together in a design that I am most happy with.



Sometimes the simplest technique requires the most thought. So that's my post for today. I hope everyone has a great week and hope you are being creative... in life, love and as always, in art.

Hot Fix Swarovski Rhinestones

First off, I wanted to mention that since I have several new followers that may not know what I look like, I am changing my profile shot for a bit. Hopefully that will make my new friends feel like they know me a bit better.

All that being said, I wanted to show you my first project using Hot Fix Swarovski Rhinestones. In my latest order from Artbeads.com, I decided to get the Bejeweler, an electric tool that makes designing with rhinestones a bit easier. I am not hesitant to use hot tools, such as wood burning or soldering pens, shoot I've even used a torch to make glass beads. This tool is very much like a wood burning pen and was very easy to use.

My main problem with this project was that I spent so much time deciding on what color stones to get, that I based my order on the cost of the stones, trying to get the most for my money. I'll know next time to buy fewer colors but larger stones. I didn't do enough research before I placed my order and was a bit surprised by how small the stones were. Artbeads.com has a learning center with a video that showed me how to place the stones and how to use the heat tool, but I couldn't find anything showing me what size the stones were. Since getting my order, I have found another website that has a really good guide as to how big the stones are and what the abbreviations mean. I now know that SS means stone size and has nothing to do with mm which was what I was thinking.

Here are a few shots of my experience with the hotfix rhinestones. I didn't have a real project in mind, I just wanted to learn to use the tool. I chose a really plain everyday blouse and decided to put some snowflake type designs on the collar points.

First I marked the design using a gel pen - not the best idea kids...


(next time I will use a marker that disappears after a while, but this did OK, I guess)

Then I laid out the crystals on the dots, I used tweezers to pick the little buggars up with and in the process dropped two of them. (At .12 each you don't want to drop too many, because they apparently become invisible when they hit the floor)



On the first one I laid them all out and then got the heat tool and pressed down on each stone...

This was a bit difficult to do and on the other one I tried placing one down and then using the heat gun. This didn't really work that well either and even though the tool has multiple size tips, the stones I chose were too small to pick up with the heat tool and place individually like that.

Since I seldom give up, I persevered and added a green design on the other collar point and added crystal ones down the front. It actually turned out pretty good and I plan on getting some larger stones and dressing it up some more. Actually, if I can figure out how large the iron on designs are, I might go that way the next time.

So here is the finished product...

All in all, this was an interesting project. These crystals are really, really sparklie and if you had a costume or a ball gown to embellish these are most definitely the product to use. If you have little ones that want to jazz something up and they are old enough to use a heat tool, it would be such a fun project, but keep in mind these little stones can get away from you really quickly and you end up needing many more than you might realize at first. For me, I think my next sparklie project will be made with the Swarovski Crystals that you string, I am a beader after all and can somehow keep up with beads better.

In the mean time, put your thinking caps on and maybe you and your BFF can come up with something that needs some sparklie bling. If you do, check out ArtBeads.com. The shipping was so fast I could hardly believe it and the packaging is always cute (tissue paper and stickers) and very secure and they include a card with a project on it.

I hope to start working on yet another new project tomorrow. Not sure what I will get into, but cooler weather is certainly making me think about yarns and crochet hooks and maybe some fiber jewelry. How about you? How does the change of seasons affect your art? Do you tend to want to hibernate and snuggle in or are you invigorated and wildly productive in the winter?

Just remember that whatever your style is, wherever your creativity takes you, you are an artist. In the kitchen, at the computer, putting together everything for school or work each morning, wherever you are...you are ART. I really believe this. I really do.

Have fun and enjoy the weekend!

I've Got Mail

I got the cutest thing in the mail last week. I won a give away by the always lovely Suze at Pink Crayon Studio. She gave away this beautiful angel for her two year blogaversary. It arrived securely and sweetly packaged and looks so beautiful in person.

The back of this little prim angel is as pretty as the front...

She bears a tag that states "Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once she grows up". Such a thoughtful gift. Thanks again, Suze.

When I wasn't admiring my gift, I was playing with polymer clay. I made several items last week, but my favorites were adapted from the book "Ancient Modern, Polymer Clay + Wire". I say adapted only because the art ring isn't exactly like the project picture, but it's pretty close. Art is all about putting your own spin on things, anyway, isn't it?


With the exception of a piece of wire in the ring keeping the beads together and a piece of leather cording holding the brooch elements in place, they are entirely constructed of polymer clay. The ring is extremely comfortable, but probably too bulky to actually wear, but it is such a nice piece of art that it can't be discounted for that. Since brooches are one of the earliest pieces of adornment, I felt that my brooch deserved an aged appearance. I achieved this look with texturing of the clay and using several colors of acrylic paint.

Well, that's some of what I did recently. I also got my order from Art Beads this weekend and had fun adding some "bling" to a fairly plain blouse using my new BeJeweler...



I took so many pictures that I may post them as a tutorial of sorts. I do have several things to mention about this tool.

All that being said, stay tuned folks and later in the week I'll show you my BeJeweled creation.

Chicken Every Sunday

Back in 1949 there was a movie called Chicken Every Sunday. I've never seen the move or even read the book, but I think the premise of the title was that times were tough in this particular family and since chicken was the cheapest thing to cook, it was the meal that was eaten most often.



All that being said, I remember my mom frying chicken for Sunday dinner and I'm sure some of you do too. Today is Sunday and my hubby suggested a quick trip to KFC to try the new grilled chicken. We got two 2 piece breast meals with potatoes and gravy and mac and cheese. No drinks, no extras. It was $17.80. In my book that is almost $20.00 and that's not a cheap meal for two people. It was very good, the chicken was cooked perfectly and the side dishes were yummy. We did get the extra chicken breasts so we could top a quick salad with chicken tonight and that way I don't have to cook today. That works for me. Still eighteen bucks for 2 dinners is too much.

I have been very busy with polymer clay this week and have several cute pieces to post and I got some goodies in the mail that I want to share with you later this week.

So in the mean time, have a great Sunday and an even better Labor Day and look for me on Tuesday with some fun things to show.

Tina

You all remember little "Doodle Face"...

Well, my sweet friend Marie said this in her comment...

I love your doodle face, she is really cute. I can see her as painted quilted hanging for a little girls room. On a dowel with balls on the end and painted with colors to match with lines and dots on the dowel and ribbons of complimentary colors hanging from each side. With a banner under her face that says "wonder"...

Well, I certainly liked this idea and started to put my spin on it. I cut out the face shapes and then I drew her facial features directly onto the fabric with inktense pencils. Then I appliquéd them onto the background fabric with black stitching. Ohhh, this made her look spooky (but in a good way) so I didn't know where she was going to take me next. I made a small opening on the back of her eye lids and stuffed them trapunto style. I also gave her some glitzy beaded eyeliner.

I even machine embroidered eyebrows for her. You may notice her colorful tresses, they are from the last package from my sister, which included several balls of raw silk strips, somewhat like selvages. I thought they would be perfect for hair and everything just sorta snowballed from then on. I added strips of brightly colored fabric to the edges of the piece and I then stretched her over a previously used 16" x 20" canvas, with some batting underneath. I had originally been going to sew through the canvas and make some definition in that way, but the canvas had been painted and would not allow me to do this. Hmmm, now what? I was able to stitch some ceramic butterfly beads above her head, but...

She is still missing something and I knew I wanted wording below her face. (Thanks, Marie for that, too). In fact, I felt that she needed her name there, but since she was already attached and I couldn't stitch her name, I did the next best thing...I faux stitched her name with a paint pen and some glitter gel "stitching". I decided to name her Tina after the youngest girl on Still Standing.

So she ended up looking like this...

...click on pictures for more detail...

Since it's sometimes difficult to figure out what size a piece of art really is, I'm also showing you a picture of Tina lounging on the deck.

Well, I think that is going to be my last fabric work for a while. I'm tidying up the studio tomorrow and moving the sewing machine out of sight. Maybe that way I can get some polymer clay work done.

I have several projects in mind and need to start on Christmas presents and such.

In the mean time, I am going to be getting rid of my assemblage supplies, such as papers, metal pieces, junk drawer stuff and the like. If you are interested in a big box of surprise supplies and will pay for the shipping, I'll send them to you. Let me know and I can show you some pictures.

Well, that's all for now. Enjoy what's left of your weekend and get ready for Monday.

Thump, Thump, Thump

Hear that sound, that's me patting myself on the back. Sometimes you deserve to give yourself an "atta girl". Why, you may ask? First off because I got 15 comments on my last post and I am doing the happiness dance (looks a lot like the cabbage patch, but I digress). Seriously though, I am so pleased to think that people actually take time from their day to read anything I post. I even got new followers. Thanks so much, I hope you will continue to visit.

One of the things I have been working on is a table runner. I have been trying to teach myself quilting. I have been sewing since my first little card that had holes in it that you ran a string up and down through (remember those?). I wouldn't say my sewing skills are expert, but I'm pretty good....but I am geometrically challenged. I persevered and came up with this.



Straight lines and angles and triangles and squares when doing quilting have to be spot on. Since my cutting mat didn't have any numbers on it and I was using a wonky ruler, I ran into lots of trouble. I do like appliqué, so I had no problems when I cut out and sewed (by machine) the little cats.

This little set was going to be for the table in my kitchen, but the Hubby liked it on the dining room table and since you can see the purple from there, I think I'll leave it there.


Back to the quilting, the mats and rulers at JoAnn's have so many numbers on them that I don't understand at this stage of the game, so I knew a trip to the quilt shop was in order. We have a very nice one nearby.

When I entered the shop, I thought I was in a spa. There was soft quiet music tinkling and each themed room of supplies let to another just as lovely. The owner silently made her way from the back of the shop to greet me and to show me around. She quietly explained each room to me and let me look around. After checking out things very quickly, I found her and started to explain my situation, beginning quilter needing classes, etc. She was very nice and tried to answer my questions, but she was so quiet and whispery that I felt like I was intruding. Now I don't smoke, and I don't drink and I lead a fairly simple life, but compared to this chick, I'm rowdy.

Short version of this is that I will probably be able to get some fine fabric and supplies from there if I choose, but if her own demeanor is indicative of the type of patrons that she has, well she wouldn't know what to do with me. In the meantime I keep blundering on and doing what works for me and yesterday I struck gold.

Little play on words there, the hubby and I went last week to hear Gold Heart, a bluegrass and gospel group comprised of three sisters and their dad. Since we try to support young artists and musicians, we bought CD's and DH even bought me a shirt. I really liked it but the sleeves were too short, so I put on the old thinkin' cap and decided to make the sleeves longer.

DH supplied a black tee-shirt and I cut it up and using the new shirt as a guide line, cut out sleeves, sewed them together and added them to the existing sleeves. This was not quite as easy as I have made it out to be, but it was well worth the time.



This way it has a layered look and is extremely comfy and I am quite happy with the results.


So if you are ever hesitant about purchasing something, remember what Stacy and Clinton say, things can be altered. If you don't sew there are shops that do altering.

Well, that's it for today. Enjoy your weekend and remember if they are ever in your area, check out Gold Heart. You'll be glad you did. In addition to being incredibly talented, they are sweet girls and have their stuff together. Refreshing and reassuring that there are still lots of good kids out there.

Happy Friday!

Doodle Face

I don't know if anyone has noticed, but I have this challenge that I engage in with myself every post. I try to hold off making a new post until I get 10 comments. Well, sometimes that just isn't possible, as I am sometimes just plain bored seeing the same old picture showing up for days at a time. Ahhh, is it just me that checks my comments all day long? Do you do that, too? I digress, anyway I am still trying to learn to quilt, so I don't really have any thing to post, except this little girl. She is drawn in my art journal, which is 9 x 12, so that gave me plenty room for wackiness.



Sometimes I just have to doodle a face so I can have something to color. There are so many talented artists out there and in my head, I think I can use some of their techniques and come up with really cool stuff. Well, this time, what was going on in my head, just didn't make it all the way to my fingers.

That being said, I just like to experiment with different pens and color pencils and such. I like to see what one color looks like next to another and what will happen if I layer this color over that, and so on. I am not trained in art, other that high school, but I do have a lot of books with color wheels and the like, but sometimes I just need to get the pencils and draw and experience it myself. It doesn't have to look like someone, it doesn't have to look real...shoot, it doesn't even have to be very good. It's just something that I have to do.

So for that reason, I am posting was I am calling Doodle Face. I will issue a little challenge. Start to doodle and then make the shapes into a face. That's all a face is anyway, just a bunch of shapes drawn together. So folks, show us your Doodle Faces.

I have to go now, there is a gnat flying across in front of me and it's driving me mad, I tell you, simply mad.

Have a good evening.

Pictorial Quilts

They are called either pictorial quilts or sometimes landscape quilts. The book that inspired me to try one is Pictorial Quilts by Carolyn Vosburg Hall. While this is an older book that I got from the library, it certainly has inspired me to try my hand at this type of art. It most definitely has inspired me to get my hands on other books of this type.

Enough chatter, here is my first attempt at a pictorial quilt.

Click on picture to see details

While it is not a traditional quilt (using pieced together pieces vs appliqués), it is pictorial. This is my house in fabric and thread. I spent about thirty minutes in the piece goods shop picking out the fabric and then the next day I took the picture and traced the picture to paper that I cut the fabric pieces from. I used WonderUnder as my adhesive, but it does make the fabric pieces very stiff. It took me two more days to appliqué and stitch the pieces.

I "framed" it in long strips of some of the same fabric that I used to make the house and the backing is a plaid fabric that went really well. I am thinking of trying another method next time, but anyway I had fun making it and I know another one is in the near future. This was supposed to be a practice piece, but I got into it and went on and did a bit more detail than I had planned.

So that's my first pictorial quilt. I've got my thinking cap on already to come up with the next one. Any ideas? Let me hear!

Just another Manic Monday

Man, I had forgotten about that song. Used to love it. Hope everyone had a great weekend and is getting ready for an even better week. So maybe the first day of the week is a bit manic, that's ok with me. Mondays always help me get motivated.

Motivation wasn't my problem this past week or today for that matter. I wanted to do one last project before I put moved my sewing machine off my table. I literally move it from the table to the floor and keep it there for convenience. That's what I love about a portable machine.

I had seen some patterns and even kits at Jo Ann's for strip quilts, but since quilting used to be all about using up scraps and fabrics that you had on hand, I went that route.

First I cut my strips 2" x 21" and sewed them together...


Then I cut them into 3" strips going the other direction...


Then I flip flopped the direction of every other strip and sewed them together again...

(Keep in mind that I really don't know what I'm doing, I'm just going for it)

Then I sandwiched a no longer being used dish towel between the front and backed it with this piece with solid blue and stippled it with black...

Then I bound it with strips of one of the front side fabrics...

As you can see, I ended up with a nice size quilted mat for my kitchen table. Now I'm sure it would look a lot different if I had purchased specific fabric or even the strips already cut and sewed them into more traditional quilt squares, but I was just messing around.

Speaking of messing around, after cleaning my studio and even vacuuming the floor, I got out all my polymer clay. I spent several hours playing with it. Just sorting it into groups of conditioned, unconditioned or new and scrap clay. Playing with clay is a lot like sorting beads or buttons. It really gets you in the mood to move on to a new project. (By the way Kristen, I am getting a lot of use out of the clay and things that you sent me, thanks again!)

My newest project was learning to do more with my extruder. If you want to use an extruder and learn new techniques-take my word for it and get a Makin's Clay extruder. I think I may have posted on this previously, but there is a world of difference in this wonderful tool and the little cheap-o junkie thing that I had before that had a little plunger on it and was absolute murder to push the clay through.

This is a wonderful tool and I am having a ball with it. I ordered mine online and it was worth waiting the week that it took to ship. Anyway I have been doing multi color "snakes" and placing them on unbaked clay beads and then baking them. Such fun and the colors are just fab-u-lous.

The method I am using requires you to cut different color circles of clay and stack them together and form a little loaf that will fit in the tube of the extruder. I found that if you use metallic clay as part of the stack, it hardens the Sculpey III up just enough for it to have a tiny bit of crack to the strands and they look like leather and are really easy to work with.

If you are interested in learning more about polymer clay and especially extruders, check out Cindy Lietz at Beads and Beading. She is a super lady and I always love her work. You can learn a lot from her.

Well, that's it for now. I'm sure I will have something new to post in a few days. There is something so enticing about cranking soft clay through the extruder that it just makes me want to sneak back down to my studio and start something else.

We'll talk soon.

District 9

Went to see District 9 (click here for official site) today with the hubby and our mutual BFF. BFF and I really loved it, hubbs not quite as crazy about it as we were.


Anyway, here we are standing next to a promotional sign for the movie. Aren't we just too, too cute?

Seriously though folks, I made a little quilted project that I will post later, but until then take care and enjoy your weekend.

I love purple...

Have I ever mentioned that I love purple? My kitchen is light shades of purple. My room as a teen was purple with a purple crushed velvet bedspread. I would wear nothing but purple, but I do try to work in other colors. Anyway, all that is leading to my current project. I had forgotten how much I love to sew and I can't seem to put my machine away to make any jewelry or polymer clay. I just want to sew and sew!

Sew, here is what I did last week and over the weekend. (When I wasn't eating donuts, that is.)

I picked out some really retro, 70's looking cotton and made an over sized top to wear with jeans. To stay with that retro look, I added white hem tape as the trim.

I have some beautiful fabric that my uncle, God Rest His Soul, brought me from his mission trip to Africa. I haven't wanted to use it, but I did cut off a strip and made it into a pretty cool head band.


Here is the close up version...

I sewed elastic onto the back of the headband and it could actually be used as a necklace, if I were so inclined.

And last, but certainly not least, I created these little fingerless gloves/gauntlet type thingies.

My hands freeze when I work at the computer or if I am sitting around reading. I have a pair of black lace fingerless gloves that I wear, but they just aren't very warm. So I had a remnant of fleece tucked away which worked perfectly. The fun thing about fleece is you don't have to hem the edges unless you want to. At first I didn't stitch the edges, but it had enough stretch that I decided to do a ruffle edge. To do that, you stretch your fabric as you zig-zag it and it ruffles. Such a neat trick. For the embellishment I cut out several of the flowers from the retro purple fabric and combined them with hand made polymer clay buttons for a one of a kind look.

Well, that's my art for today. Hope everyone is off to a great start this Monday. Enjoy your week, stay cool and creative and we'll talk soon.

Anniversary Sweets

This is how we celebrated the anniversary....


The hubby is a big fan of the delicacy referred to as donuts. I usually stay away from them because they make my tum-tum hurt. But....it was anniversary day and these are "cake" donuts versus "yeast" donuts, which I really do like, so I agreed.

Now are you wondering if we made these last? Well, no we didn't. I fixed a pot of coffee and he got us a couple of small plates and we went for it. On the left, we have dreamcicle, in the middle we have maple icing and on the right you have cherry cheesecake. Believe me, by the third donut, I was almost shaking and my teeth were on edge, but I did it. I get sugar overload very easily. They were good, but no more for me for quite a while.

Well, that was our anniversary celebration. Thanks for all your well wishes. Hope you enjoy the upcoming week. Later this week I'll post my latest creation, they're cute, but sorta kooky. Till then, stay cool, calm and creative.

The Best Day Ever...

In honor of the most special event in my life I am re-posting this. I know you won't mind reading it again...


Please join me in celebrating the Best Day Ever...
August 8, 1988

I don't have an picture from the actual wedding, but here we are soon after.

The wedding was a spur of the moment thing. One of the girls I worked with convinced me to go ahead with the plans that my sweetie and I had sort of talked about. I said to her that morning, when I looked at our office calendar, "ahhh, I wanted to get married today". She said "Well, the boss is on vacation, so we have most of the day to plan it out. Call your sweetie, go get the license while I find a preacher". No more encouragement was needed. We did get a parking ticket while we were obtaining the license, but other than that everything went off without a hitch.

Yes, my sweet friends, twenty one years ago today, we said "I Do" and promised to love, cherish and obey. We meant it then and we mean it now. We got married in a little wedding chapel. I wore my favorite denim skirt and top and pinned Baby's Breath in my hair and carried some fresh wildflowers. (Sandy thought of everything). When we went to pick up Denise, to go along as our attendant/witness, she was wearing a yellow terrycloth tank top with matching short shorts and flip flops (she was the singer in the band Sweetie was in) and had already gotten a wedding cake for us that had little gold rings on it (there is still a piece in our freezer, we have taken it whenever we have moved). I carried my sister's Bible and wore my Mom's long forgotten wedding band. I have no recollection of what he wore, but we went to the Sizzler afterwards and had dinner. I am a little sad to admit that we didn't think to tell either of our families until it was over. We were more impulsive in those days.

I have to let you all know, I was crying as I wrote this originally. I am so blessed and fortunate to have him in my life. We have been through tough times just like anyone else, but we made it this far and we will make it through anything that comes our way. He is the love of my life and I will never stop thanking God for allowing me to spend my life with him. I remember I couldn't stop crying as I typed and guess what... I am crying again, as I re-post it. Whenever I blog, he gets his guitar and plays and sings songs for me as I type, I don't think he realizes how romantic it is. He and I aren't big party people, and we still haven't decided how we will celebrate. It doesn't matter what we do, as long as we are together.

I can't think of a better way to share my joy with all my friends, than through this little blog. That is why I am posting this happy, grainy picture from so many years ago. Hope you like it.

To help us celebrate, please kiss that special someone and say "this one's for Susan and her Hubby".

Well, today's the day...

Yep, it's reveal day. I know that you thought I'd never finish, but here she is. I took my time making her, spending about a week on the entire project.




The pattern, by Deanna Hogan, was a bit hard for me to understand. Perhaps because this was my first real attempt at someone else's pattern. That being said, I must say that every thing fit together perfectly. For me, having copied a pattern from a magazine, I think this is fantastic. The pictures and the directions for the shoes didn't really make sense to me, but I followed them exactly and they turned out perfectly.

Since we all loved her stockings, I know you will love the little shoes. Here is a close up of them.

Even though it's not perfect, here is a close up of her face...

This was such a good experience, that I just may continue along this line of art for a bit.

Well, on to something that I have been hesitant to share with anyone, but I'm going to anyway. The little kitty that we got last month, while absolutely adorable in his photos, proved to be way too active for me to keep up with. Since art is what I do, I was spending most of my days in my studio. As you can imagine, it is filled with way too many booby traps for him to stay with me. That meant he was staying upstairs by himself. He wasn't getting the exercise and one-on-one contact that a growing kitty needs, so after discussing with the hubby and praying about what to do, this past Saturday I decided to let him go live with a family that has kids. Their little 9 year old had been longing for a kitty, so she is going to have a ball with him.

My only regret is that this was a quickly set up meeting and while I am convinced this is the right place for him to be, in the excitement of the moment, making sure they got his vet records and his carrier, food and litter...shoot, we forgot to exchange personal information. I'm sure he will be much happier now and I'm sure you will understand my decision.

So hang in there with me and help me remember that this was for the best. I think I was trying to recapture some of the joy that we experienced from the twenty years that we raised and adored our three cats. So I'm back to empty house syndrome and I know I'll be fine. I just wanted to share this with you, who other than my hubby and sister, are my closest friends. Thanks for listening.

That's it for today. If you have any favorite cloth doll artists or patterns, please clue me in. Thanks and have a great week.