Road Trip to Teesha Moore's Class

     So I left yesterday afternoon for Avon Lake, Ohio. Spent the night in Royal Oak, Michigan with one of my best friends, got up and did some garage "sailing" this a.m. and then got back on the road around 1:30. Thrilled to see the "Welcome to Ohio" sign since that meant only another 2 hours to go. The total trip is about 7 hours. After I got on the 80/90 Turnpike, it was pretty smooth sailing. Thank goodness I rented a car with good gas mileage and A/C, it was 95 degrees! The CD player did not work, but the radio was great, found lots of stations with music I like to sing a long with while driving. No accidents or major construction, how cool, right?

     So I made my way to the lovely Sunset Shores B&B in Avon Lake and I was greeted by this lovely tree lined canopy, I just love it! Something magical about driving or walking though a canopy of trees. We try to drive along this gorgeous winding and canopied road in the fall when the colors are peak up in Harbor Springs, it is breathtaking. But enough of the fall, I'm in no rush to go there, though it is my favorite season. My room is lovely, furnished with art deco waterfall furniture and with two great views of Lake Erie. The deck is perfect to watch a sunset or sunrise, which I plan on taking advantage of tonight! Don't you wish you were here? Teesha Moore's class starts at 10 a.m. tomorrow, I hope I can sleep, I'm soooo excited!!!

Her husband Tracy Moore is also teaching a class and both are full, so I'll get to meet a lot of new artsy type people this weekend. Big thanks to Ginny of Small Studio Productions for hosting such wonderful classes this year to celebrate her birthday all year long!

Home, Kindness and Packing up

     Home is one of my latest visual journal pages. I've been practicing using some of the supplies I bought for my class with Teesha Moore this weekend. I think I may do a darker color wash over the roof, it needs it, lol. I wish my house could fly around with me, like my parents motor home, I think it is just the coolest thing to travel with your home, like a snail. I am beyond excited about my upcoming roadtrip and class with Teesha. Ginny of Small Studio Productions is hosting this wonderful class, so major bowing down in her direction. I have packed up most of the art supplies for the class, now I just have to pack up my stuff, pj's, toothbrush and those sorts of things. I hope I don't forget anything.

     Kindess is another of my new journal pages, though I feel like I have a lot more to do with this page. Saving a lot of work for the class, where I can use some new techniques to finish some pages up. Going to burn some travel CD's tonight too. If you pass a woman singing her heart out in the car next to you, it is probably me, lol, I love to sing in the car.

Teacup Tuesday

     Discovered a lovely website today with a fun "Teacup Tuesday" chance to share photos of some of my favorite teacup and saucer sets. I collect them, lol, along with a whole lot of other things! This one is from my Block Optic depression glass collection (what did I tell you?) I actually use my collection on occasion for tea. I wish there was a place here in Traverse City that offered High Tea, but alas, I have to wait until I get downstate to indulge. There something so charming about plates full of finger sandwiches and miniature one or two bite desserts. Of course, I also love to prepare high tea at home, using all my well  loved dishes and tea accoutrements. And I get to break out my Victoria magazines and tea cookbooks to make some miniature delicious treats. I don't do it often, it takes time to whip up scones, cake, sandwich fillings and sometimes soup. But when I do, it brings me a great deal of pleasure.

Green Paper Challenge and Voodoo Cafe win.

     My submission for Green Paper's Miss Mary Hayes Challenge. You can go to her website to download the PDF of the images required for the challenge here. How fun is this? I can't believe how many creative challenges abound online to keep you thinking outside the box and to help you hone your design skills, I love it. And lots of giveaways too.
     On Notes from the Voodoo Cafe blog I was the lucky winner of a very cool travel journal that Ricë Freeman-Zachery gave away last week, how cool is that? And she has such a cool blog, I really enjoy reading it since she updates just about daily. I'm turning into a blog junkie, there are so many great things to read. Ok, this was just a quick drive by posting to get my challenge entry posted! Hasta!
     And here is a link to another giveaway from Robin's Egg Blues' Blog. Quite a nice little collection of goodies if you are the lucky winner!

Cherry Fest Parade, Kiddie Rides and the Reading Parlour

Family awaiting the big parade!

     My mom and dad came up to watch the National Cherry Festival Cherry Royal Parade with us on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and we had great seats under a tree with lots of shade. That is my mom sitting next to my empty seat, and then my daughter with the blue hat, my dad and finally my sweet hubby, who got up at 4 a.m. to put the chairs out!  My favorite parts of the parade were the Woodland School float, a tribute to Sault Ste. Marie in the Upper Peninsula, The Scottville Clown Band, The Cherry Festival Chair-y Drill Team, the Elmer's "Pink Ribbon" cement mixer, another elementary school's tribute to Frankenmuth float and another band dressed up in black and yellow stripes like bumble bees. 

Elmer's "Pink Ribbon" Cement Mixer

If you take a photo of this cement mixer when you see it and go to their website and tell them where you saw it, they will donate $2 to breast cancer research. Pretty cool, eh?

Frankenmuth City Float

We used to live in Frankenmuth, Michigan. It is a cool town to explore. My hubby is German, so we had lots of fun being immersed in German culture for about eight months. Bronner's is the largest Christmas store in the U.S. if I'm not mistaken, you can get lost there!

Woodland School "Sault Ste. Marie" Float

The theme this year for all the elementary school floats appeared to be famous or historical Michigan cities. Sault Ste. Marie (pronounced Soo Saint Marie) is in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

Scottville Clown Band

I look forward to seeing this band every year, they are very good and having so much fun! The clown get ups are just a riot too!

Bumblebee looking marching band whose name I cannot recall!

Their gear was so striking and they were pretty good too.

Kids on the Tilt-A-Whirl

     We took the kids to the Midway on Thursday so they could enjoy a few rides. They had a great time and we had a great time watching them have a great time, lol. I was never one for roller coasters or other thrill rides, but my kids enjoy them and I like to live vicariously these days.

 




And if you are wondering how my new "Reading Parlour" is coming along, here are a few more current photos. My mom and I had "tea" in it yesterday. I made finger sandwiches and used my tidbit server along with some pretty glasses for a little dessert wine. It was just lovely!

The Reading Parlour Part 1

     In case you are wondering about my "reading parlour," here are a couple of photos. The first is the earliest "before" I remembered to take. We had already primed most of the emptied out closet, which had been a rough and unpainted particle board, but had not applied any of the gorgeous "Pooh's Favorite Things" shade of turquoise blue paint. The other walls are a dingy butter yellow that even photoshop would not grasp, lol. The railing is very beat up, but still sturdy, so that will eventually get a coat of primer and then ivory paint. since there is big step involved, the railing has to stay, though I would love to get rid of it, I'll just have to make it work.

     The next photo shows the lovely blue color now up in the closet and the first coat of it on the other walls that will need two. Since we primed the closet part so well, one coat did the job. I have placed my two cozy chairs in the new space as well as one of my favorite shabby chic pieces that I've had stored for the last ten, yes ten, years. It is an old door painted white and then sanded to give it a charming worn appearance. The glass of the window has been replaced with a mirror and the loveliest coat hooks have been added as well. There is also a small shelf halfway down than can hold a cup of tea, a plate of scones and a candle or two. Of course it will more likely be where I place my diet grape soda and plate of Girl Scout cookies, lol. But it is charming and sweet and I've been dying to use it for the last ten years, so this is just the best present to myself. I have a good collection of shabby chic things that have been packed away for far too long and I've missed them terribly. I love the faded elegance and welcoming feel of shabby chic things. It never gets old for me.

     You can also just see part of my mini tile collection on the right side. I try to pick up local work as well as pieces from places we visit. And of course anything sweet on Etsy, though I do have a price limit. They are actually hard to find, not many potters make mini tiles so I strike out often. The other half of this particular collection is still packed away somewhere, but I'm going through boxes everyday and will soon happen upon it and if you were here, you would hear me shriek with delight. Really. My camera is flashing a warning about the battery level for the flash, so my photos haven't been very cooperative lately, I'll try to get it corrected before I take any more of the new room, which is much further along now. The built in shelves are up and a lot more is up on the walls, but you'll have to wait a another day or so to see it. Did I mention that my mom is bringing up a chandelier that I can use to replace the current sad and broken lighting fixture?

Cherry Festival

     It's that time of year again here in Traverse City. The National Cherry Festival is under way and the population swells! Took my brother my nephew to see the Blue Angels who make an appearance every other year. Fun show, though I have a hard time with the cost of the fuel to fly those babies. But they are incredible and since my son is now in the Navy, I gotta show some pride here! We walked around town after the show and then hit the classic car show. Now I'm not into the classic cars, though I appreciate their beauty and history.

However, there was the coolest Rockabilly band there and we sat and enjoyed the music in the shade and took a much needed rest since it was a hot and humid day. The band's female lead singer was so cool. She had on a red strapless cowgirl dress with black cowboy boots and she played the most gorgeous upright bass I've ever seen. She had long black hair with those Betty Page bangs and she could sing! A couple Patsy Cline songs and a great rendition of Johnny Cash' "Ring of Fire," it was a great little concert.
     My new "reading parlour" is coming along nicely. The second coat of paint is on and I've installed eight of the twelve built in shelves so far. I've never attempted to create a built in bookcase, but I am happy to report that I am thrilled with what I've got so far. I have to buy one more wide board and one more little one and have them cut to finish it out, but thankfully, Home Depot cuts at no charge! I still need to paint them or cover them, haven't decided just yet what I want to do. I am considering covering them with newsprint, but also considering priming and painting them the turquoise to match the walls and then writing some much loved quotes along the front edges. Decisions decisions. I have been taking photos as I go along so I will have a great before and after series to post later. My flash is misbehaving, I think the battery is low, so I will have to fix them in photoshop, but that is great practice for me. I have to prime the railing and paint it, hang a new chandelier in place of the current blah fixture and then remove the paint spots from the floor. I think I have at least another week to go before it is totally finished, although the chandelier won't be in until August, everything else I can do myself. I am sooo happy to have this small space to call my own, TV free and full of the things I love. Although it is small, it suits me just fine.
     Counting down the days until my workshop with Teesha Moore....ten days to go, woo hoo! I can't wait to just dive in and really immerse myself in the art of visual journal creation. I have all my supplies and have practiced using some of them too, so I shouldn't be too green when I get there. Lol, who am I kidding? I'm such a total newbie at it, but I am a lover of journeys and have every intention of learning all I can when I'm there. Alrighty, off to make some new visual journal pages and then I'll work on some photos from Cherry Festival and my "reading parlour" to share with you. Cheers!

Fat Free Garage Sale

     Ok, so there is no such thing as a fat free garage sale, but I had another fat free day and a garage sale and wanted to talk about both. We spent yesterday afternoon and evening pulling things together and doing a partial set up for the garage sale and then got up about 7 a.m. to finish the set up and pricing. Then we opened at 7:45 a.m. and had the most perfect weather for our sale. We met some interesting people and sold lots of goodies. The Blue Angels even flew over a few times during their practice. My daughter's lemonade and rice krispy treat stand did very well too. But I am totally exhausted even though we ended at 3 p.m.  Tootsies are tuckered out! Tomorrow we'll get up early and do it again. I have to pull some more stuff out tonight for tomorrow since we sold a lot of the bigger things.

   And now onto my current Dr. sanctioned fat free eating plan. I met with the surgeon yesterday who is going to remove my gall bladder at the end of the month. I asked if I had to keep to the fat free eating plan and he said "yes." Soooo, I have to avoid fat of any kind until the end of the month and am trying to figure out how to do this without losing my mind! I've been trying some new things that are fat free that I had previously snubbed. Some are still worth snubbing, So here is a short list of what I really like in case you ever have a gall bladder attack and have to stay away from fat for a little while.

1.  Ball Park Franks Fat Free Smoked Turkey Hot Dogs
2.  Spartan Brand Caramel Rice Cakes
3.  Delmonte Dilled Green Beans in a Can
4.  Black Beans, several different brands
5.  Mott's Natural Apple Juice
6.  Snack Pack Fat Free Vanilla, Tapioca and Chocolate puddings
7.  Fat Free Cool Whip
8.  Swanson 100% Fat Free Chicken Broth
9.  Strawberry and regular Marshmallows
10.Hormel Vegetarian Chili
11.Kraft Fat Free Sharp Cheddar Cheese Slices(good enough, melts very nice over chili, scrambled eggs and baked potatoes.
12. Eggbeaters
13.Cannellini Beans
14.V8
15. Snyders unsalted pretzels, they are fat free.

That's it so far, there are other things that I really don't care for, including fat free sour cream, fat free cottage cheese and Fat Free Saltine Crackers. I've also discovered some good combos from the above list. I like the dilled green beans with black beans and/or cannellini beans, they make a very satisfying warm or cold salad. The Eggbeaters on fat free english muffins with a slice of fat free cheese is also good. And then the vegetarian chili over a baked potato with a slice of fat free cheese in between makes a tasty dinner. I crumbled some fat free saltines on top and that made it better. So there you have it. If I find more things I like in the fat free world, I'll be sure to post them. I do so wish bleu cheese was fat free though...

Flowers and Mini Tiles

     My daughter Sophie and I took a break while doing dishes last night to pick flowers from our garden for the house. Since so many of the perennials are new, we didn't have as much to choose from, even though we have lots and lots of flowers now. This bouquet is made up of pink cosmos, a daisy with shredded looking leaves and whose name I cannot recall, baby's breath and some rose mallow. The Baby's Breath was so small last year and almost dead when I got it on clearance at Menards, but it came back this year and is quite big, I love it. I try to buy a couple sad looking perennials near the end of the season each year since they are so reasonable and if they don't take I won't cry about it. But they seem to do well if I work the soil well, add some compost and then get a wonderful surprise the following year. I almost pulled the Baby's Breath out this spring, to be honest, I couldn't remember if that is what it was. Thank goodness I followed my instincts and left it alone.

     I also took a photo of the mini tiles I collect that are peeking out from behind the flowers. They are waiting to be rehung on the wall since we took them all down when we painted, LAST year, lol! I have at least as many as you see here that are packed up. When I get them all back up on the wall, hopefully in our new "reading room," I'll take another photo. I collect mini tiles from places we visit if I can find them in the local galleries. Sometimes I don't find anything, so have to settle for shoes, beads or postcards. But love when I find a tile made by a local artist. I also buy some tiles I find on Etsy, since there are so many talented artists there too.  I'm going to Cleveland in mid-July and hope to find a new tile to add to the collection. I am particularly fond of rabbits, mermaids, flora and fauna, but I also like inspiring things and unique shapes.
     And did I mention that my 10 year old daughter beat the pants off myself, her father and her 16 year old brother at Monopoly tonight? No cheating and no helping at all!

Purging Monday

     Actually, I should say Saturday, Sunday and Monday since we have been tackling one room each day. Saturday was the living room, Sunday the dining room and today the kids and I tackled the pantry. Our pantry is also the laundry room and was in serious need of decluttering, purging, dusting and organizing. We went to town! And when my sweet hubby got home all tired from a hard day at work, he took the time to put up a new shelf that required a trip to the hardware store. We now have mountains of things for the garage sale that I am intent on hosting on Thursday and Friday. The tourists will be landing for the Cherry Festival and it is a perfect time to have a ginormous garage sale.
     Tomorrow we have the kitchen and back hall to overhaul. I actually got a couple cupboards in the kitchen started today, and thankfully it is a very small tunnel type of kitchen (though this is something I also lament about being so fond of the kitchen and cooking) so it isn't the massive job it could be. The back hall is another story. It is not a big space, but most of it is wasted. Our charming bunny "Stella" lives in it in his cage, but he only takes up a 2x2 foot space, the rest is basically all clutter, except for the recycling bins, of which there are two, that can easily be moved right into the garage which is adjacent to the back hall. My youngest daughter and I debated about all the things we could do with that little space and finally decided on turning it into a reading and game room. Yup. It will need a couple coats of paint, the bunny will have to move (the location is still tbd, but I just can't give the bunny almost the same amount of space that the kids have for their bedrooms) and we will need to relocate a book shelf or two, but it really has so much potential. It can be cozy and artsy with a mural or mosaic, some fun lighting and some pieces of art that really need to go up. I am  really psyched about this little project. I suppose I should take some before and after photos starting tomorrow.

     Speaking of photos, here is a photo of my daughters' new goldfish. I don't know why, but I felt like getting them some goldfish. One now lives in an old fashioned fish bowl in my youngest daughter's room and the other lives in a small tank that my kids bought for me one Mother's day in my older daughter's room. I did warn them that goldfish sometimes don't live very long but that we could afford to replace them, unless they started dying everyday or every other day. I have a really colorful curtain that looked quite cool behind the fish bowl, colorful, almost circus-like in the photo. Doesn't look like that without the fish bowl in front of it, lol, not at all! My son said he was content with the bunny and did not want a goldfish. But maybe he'll change his mind.

     And then there is my new Gall Bladder badge/patch. I'm feeling so much better, obviously, though the fat free diet is still a pain in my patootie. However, I can report that I must have lost at least five lbs since my brand spankin' new clam diggers are now so loose I have to roll the waist band. Yes I'm thrilled to have lost any weight, but bummed about not fitting into my cute new pants! Life is full of balance right?

Sweet Saturday

     I love Saturdays. Although we usually spend a good part of the day keeping house, it feels so good to get something accomplished and then we also make time to play. Today we worked on straightening out and purging items from the living/family room. It is a small space, so any real clutter is just not cool. I also set up a new visual journal work space in the same room right under the big picture window. I've been spreading out on the sofa for the last few weeks, so I needed to do something. And there is actually room after the room was decluttered! I'm just thrilled to have a little spot to play. We also spent some time weeding the flower garden in front of the house. It is looking so lovely, really filling in nicely with all the wonderful weather and extra rain we have had. The weeds have also been trying to get a foot hold, but we pulled a lot of them out today. I try to spend a few minutes each day pulling a few weeds to stay on top of it, but with all the rains, they are just going wild!  And I finished reading two books today, "Jane Austen in Scarsdale," and "Creative Time and Space: Making Room for Making Art." Both were excellent books. I'm a huge fan of Jane Austen, so the modernization of "Persuasion" was just for pleasure. "Creative Time and Space" was like a play date with other artists, learning about how they find the time and create space to work.
     I usually do some big cooking in the kitchen on Saturdays, but with my current fat free diet restriction, I am trying to stay out of the place. I'm really missing cheese, butter and good chocolate right now, but I know it is temporary and I most certainly do not want to have another gall bladder attack before my surgery. I think I'll pick up some fat free cottage cheese tomorrow and see if it will satisfy my cheese cravings.
     And then to wrap up the day we are watching "Paulie," such an adorable movie, I think it is one of my top five family movies, we just love it. Like I said, "Sweet Saturday!"

You've Got to be Kidding and Mermaid Wisdom

  
     A couple new visual journal pages. One about my ridiculous gall bladder called "You've Got to be Kidding." Might as well have fun with this right? And I had fun making a grand poobah type headress for this persona, and very prickly looking hair.  I also had fun with her shoes, love to make curly toed shoes for some reason, I don't own a single pair and wouldn't know where to buy them either. The jelly belly logo in her hands represents my own jelly like belly that probably got me into this mess as well as the irony that I can still have jelly belly products, since most are fat fee. The stand up collar is something I want to add to more figures as well, something regal yet silly about it with lots of potential I think. We'll see...

     The other is titled "Mermaid Wisdom." I am crazy about mermaids, among other things. They appeal to me artistically in a way that invades my thoughts pretty often. I find the idea of mermaids mysterious, sensuous, beautiful, serene and playful all at once.  I also love the water and maybe that has something to do with my feelings too. And then there is living so close to Lake Michigan, you can't help feeling inspired every time you drive by or jump in. I'd love to write a book, create a few sculptures and some dolls, all are already formed in my head, but I haven't done more than collect the items I need to start...just procrastinating at this point for some reason. Visual journal pages give me the opportunity to explore a little more with them in a more manageable way until I'm ready for the big stuff. At least that is what I'm telling myself, don't you love rationalizations?

New Books

     I am so thrilled! I got two new books in the mail today, Rice Freeman-Zachery's "Creative Time and Space: Making Room for Making Art," and Alison Eads' "The Artful Card." I'm about halfway through Creative Time and Space and highly recommend it for anyone struggling with this issue, finding and making time and space to create, it is very inspirational and full of great ideas. I just skimmed through the other book,  but it looks yummy as well. It has some great techniques that I can use for visual journal pages too, and lots of collage of course.
     As for my inconsiderate gall bladder, still feeling it, but not bad enough to go to the ER, just bad enough to not feel up to doing anything very active. I have piles of "housework" but no real energy to get to it right now. Oh well, it isn't going anywhere, is it? The fat free diet has been interesting. I'm not starving, and actually, my appetite is way down, another sign I'm not feeling up to par. But I have had to be pretty creative. The liquid diet the Dr. recommended ended yesterday, so today I've been able to eat solid food too. My favorite today was a can(I normally don't go for canned veggies except beans) of dilled green beans with a can of black beans. The two together were pretty good. The dilled green beans were actually green beans marinated in a vinegar and dill and they were very good, surprisingly. But even better with the added black beans. I would eat this again, fat free diet or not. I will have to be eating fat free for a few weeks until I have my gall bladder removed. Any fat will cause it to "turn on" and could bring on another attack, so I don't want to agitate the thoughtless thing if I can help it. And I have to admit, it was time to change my eating habits. I won't cry if I never eat another piece of fried anything or fast food, honestly. The chocolate covered twinkie is another thing altogether though.

Happy Birthday Julie!

     My friend Julie turned the big 5-0 this week and we threw her a surprise cocktail party. We had vintage photos from her childhood along with more recent ones plastered around a big photo from her childhood that everyone could sign. We also had some balloons in the tropical bright colors she and I both love, turquoise, pink, orange, lime green and red, forgot the purple though. The cosmo is her favorite cocktail and she had enough to keep her happy and cute all night long. I made this card for her using the visual journal techniques I've picked up, especially influenced by Teesha Moore, of course. My friend is among other things, a survivor of breast cancer, a wonderful mother of 3 smart and good looking kids, supreme knitter, seamstress, photographer, crafter, boss lady and generous friend. I feel so lucky to have her in my life and delighted in celebrating such a milestone birthday! Happy Birthday my friend!
     And it was after the party that I had my ridiculous gall bladder attack, can you believe it?

Gall Bladder attack anyone?

     I had my first gall bladder attack, guess I need to make a patch for that! Started around 9pm last night and by 2:30am, I had my husband take me to the emergency room, in the middle of a big thunderstorm, of course. I thought it was just gas, lol, really painful gas, and was too embarrassed to go sooner. And apparently the best cure for a gall bladder attack is to have it removed! I think that is overkill, no? They don't take hearts out for heart attacks do they? The staff at Munson hospital was wonderful and kind. They took some blood, hooked me up to an IV and gave me some dilauden for the pain and then a lovely ultrasound. We left at 5:30am, with the sky lightening, but too many clouds to see one of the five sunrises on my list of 44 things to do before I turn 45, darn it. I felt better and was advised to take it easy and stick to a liquid diet for the next couple of days, broth, water and jello type things. But after that kind of discomfort/pain, I could care less if I ever eat anything again the rest of my life! So looks like I'll be losing my gall bladder at some point in time probably sooner than later considering that the pain has been creeping back up on me for the last couple hours, even though I've been laying in bed trying to sleep and have only had some water to drink today. Why didn't I think to put "have something removed" on my list of 44 things to do before I turn 45? BTW, number (5) is the gall bladder in the illustration, tucked under the liver...

Birthday and Father's Day

     It's my son Ricky's 16th birthday today and Father's Day, so we had mucho amounts of celebrating to squeeze in to the day. We had a lovely ice cream cake thanks fo my mom for the birthday and we had a brunch of chorizo sausage and eggs along with homemade tortillas, also thanks to my sweet mom.
We didn't get to visit with my dad as much as I would have liked, but we still had a four hour drive home.
     Now we are getting ready to enjoy my hubby's Father's Day present, a slide show! His mom and dad gave him a nice big box of slides years ago and I finally found a projector and trays recently at a garage sale so we can all take a look at them. We have a sheet hung up on our entertainment center and we are just waiting for it to get a little bit darker and then we'll have our show! There are photos of him in the hospital up till his high school graduation and lots of birthdays and Christmas' in between. We are so excited to see these, there is something about old fashioned slides that we just love. As I was putting them into the trays last week, I got to see little snippets of them, which was like getting to have a whiff of baking brownies but not getting to taste them!

Blackeye Pea Salad and Family Reunions

I love family reunions, a chance to see all my relatives and catch up and of course eat wonderful food. My aunt and uncle from Texas are visiting and another aunt and uncle are having everyone over for a summer garden party. I decided to make a couple dishes to take. One is the Blackeye Pea Salad pictured. It has blackeye peas, white corn kernals, mandarin oranges, roma tomatoes, green scallions, fresh garlic and a vinaigrette of olive oil and a lovely balsamic. A bit of salt and pepper too and viola, a bright, festive and delicious cold salad. I also made a couple of the fresh fruit dessert pizzas. But instead of just strawberries, it will have fresh raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries. I love the topping of cream cheese and marshmallow fluff, I could eat the whole bowl with a spoon! I'll have more photos of all the other goodies and my aunt and uncle's lovely garden later...I just hope I remember to take some, I forgot to take photos of the wonderful
Vietnamese food we had last night, and I took my camera into the restaurant!

Project Updates and New Beads

     I am working on the second phase of my upcycled art supply train case. The paint is dry and I've been adding the collage elements. A couple borders and images that I like, including photos of my four kids on the lid. I think I'll add another border to the edge of the lid, above the silver toned metal border. I've also stamped the words "Art Goodies" on top and plan on stamping and writing a lot more words onto the case. I would like to add some shading to the collage, but haven't decided what would be best. It will all need to be sealed at some point too.

Any suggestions for the sealing compound would be appreciated. I will start painting the new "used" train case today, I'm thinking it would be lovely in a bold shade of pink or bright lime green with a theme of food and cooking, including a couple of recipes for real and imagined goodies. I might even be able to add some food or kitchen type charms to it. Maybe a couple of my glass food beads, like a cupcake or ice cream sundae?

     Another project I am in the middle of is repainting a pair of worn Dansko shoes. I love these shoes, they are so comfy and supportive. As someone who has to deal with Plantar Fascitis, I have to wear good shoes as often as possible and of course the good shoes are always the most expensive! So I wanted to extend the life of this particular pair of shoes. They were originally a dark burgundy/wine color. I love the blue of

the train case so much that I decided the shoes wanted to be blue too. I cleaned them with alcohol first to remove what was left of the finish. Then I painted them with two coats of the blue acrylic paint over the next few days. Most recently, I added black stitches with permanent marker. I'm still deciding what to do for my next step. I want to draw some faces on them and then add some glitz like rhinestones...we'll see.

     And finally, after over 6 months, or 7 or 8, I've sparked up my torch and made a few beads. It was great to melt some glass again, but after I made a few beads, my mind went blank and I couldn't think of a thing to make! I was overwhelmed with all the possibilities and just froze, it was not a good feeling. So I decided to run the kiln with what I had already made and just call it a night. I did have one of them crack, I let it cool too much before putting it into the kiln to anneal. But it will be a gorgeous piece for a mosaic! Always a silver lining...

A drive by posting...

Just wanted to post a quick link to another blogger's post that I read today. It is about Etsy and copying. A really good read I think, check it out if you have issues or fears about being copied or about copying... Little Bit Funky: Being shown your own ugly

More books...

This is a continuation of another post about books I have and books I wish I had. I'm still working on listing the books I have, so probably won't get around to books I want until later.

"Found Art Mosaics" is wonderful for anyone who wants to try creating a mosaic. Besides having excellent projects to get you started with great instructions, this book explains what kinds of glues and grouts to use depending on the materials and surface you are playing with! That alone is worth the price and then some. I actually saw this artist's work in Fredericksburg, TX last year, it is amazing and inspiring. You'll never look at a piece of broken anything the same way!

Another book I have is "Crafty Chica's Art de la Soul: Glittery Ideas to Liven Up Your Life," by Kathy Cano Murillo. This is also a fun book with great projects and ideas to get you thinking outside the box. She also tells some stories with each project that are full of insights, some funny, some touching. There is also a lot of Mexican and South American feel to the projects, very colorful.

Also part of my library is "Subversive Seamster: Transform Thrift Store Threads Into Street Couture," by Melissa Alvarado, Hope Meng and Melissa Rannels. My kids and I love to hit thrift shops, resale shops and garage sales, so this book is really useful. Again, you will look at ordinary pieces of clothing in a whole different way. One of my favorite projects is creating a wrist cuff bracelet from purses that have interesting closures.


     And I own several of Rachael Ashwell's "Shabby Chic" books. I love that particular style of decorating, worn elegance, pretty and comforting.
When we lived in Texas, there was a wonderful antique show in Round Top. I went a couple times, since it was an annual event. The antique show lasted several days, maybe even a full week. This little town, really little, was overrun with giant tents, like a circus had come to town, only there were several circuses. Different farmers rented out their fields and you just parked and walked, and walked. You couldn't see it all in one day. But there were so many treasures, I just loved it. Shabby Chic is big in Texas so lots of the vendors had things already finished in that style. Pieces of old furniture, stools and lamps, painted in pale or washed out colors and then gently distressed. I still love it.

Oil Spill and Graduation

Here are two more visual journal pages I've been working on lately. One about my daughter's high school graduation, full of happiness and celebration. I used her photo for the face too. She faced a lot of struggles over the last few years and overcame issues with depression and anxiety to finish high school, we are so proud of her.

The other page is about the horrendous oil gushing out into the Gulf of Mexico. It makes me ill to think about how much of the ocean's ecosystem is being destroyed by carelessness and the worship of the almighty dollar by a few in a position to make decisions that can affect all of us. I called this page "Yuck!"

Finally, we made our Strawberry Dessert Pizza last night. It was a team effort. My son made the sugar cookie dough from scratch(instead of using the refrigerated roll from the market), I spread it out into the cookie sheet and pressed it in well and baked it. My husband made the topping and also washed and sliced all the strawberries we had picked. Then my youngest daughter helped him to cover the whole thing nicely with the sliced up berries. It was absolutely delicious and everyone enjoyed it and had seconds!

Strawberry Patch

Here is my new Summertime Strawberries patch created with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. Just a little fun to keep me from losing my Illustrator beginner skills. Processed lots of strawberries and made 12 jars of freezer jam. The kitchen smelled heavenly, full of that fresh summer strawberry fragrance. All  but one jar in the freezer now, can't wait to try it tomorrow morning. Up later than I should be, caffeine is always a mistake for me, what was I thinking? That I had developed immunity? Ha, lol...still keeps me up. Catching up on blogs I like to read...wheee!

Strawberries

    
     Started the day off early with a trip to the pool. Sixteen laps later I was ready to get the kids and head out to pick our first strawberries of the season. We went out to Guntzvillers, a wonderful U-pick farm in Elk Rapids. We go every year for strawberries, raspberries(red, black and white) and blackberries. Local June strawberries always taste like summer to me, if summer had a flavor. They are sweet and the flavor is so much more intense than anything available frozen or imported from out of the area. Next up is some strawberry freezer jam and strawberry dessert pizza. The dessert pizza is simply a sugar cookie crust, you can use store bought, but I'm making homemade, spread out on a jelly roll pan or pizza pan, baked, cooled and then you mix some marshmallow fluff, vanilla and cream cheese till smooth and spread onto the baked cookie "crust." Finally you spread sliced strawberries all over the topping and viola!  I guess I need to make a Strawberry patch/badge very soon.

I also picked up a new train case to upcycle for more art supply storage. This one is a Samsonite, longer than the blue one and an unattractive shade of brown. I like brown, but for an art supply case, it just doesn't work for me. I need some color, fun and sparkly stuff!!! Photos later, after the blue case is finished. Did I mention I'm jazzing up an old pair of Dansko shoes too? Photos of those later as well. Ok, time to go make something...what are You doing?

Pomp and Circumstance

     What is it about "Pomp and Circumstance," that makes me cry? As soon as I hear the first opening notes, I feel my chest tighten and tears form, it hits a certain emotional cord and I can't hold back. My daughter Tess graduated yesterday and it was a wonderful day. We got there early and had the chance to find good seats, unlike two years ago when my son graduated and we had to sit waaay back. The pride you feel when one of your children reaches such a big milestone in their lives is tremendous, it just fills you up and makes you feel like puffing out, lol, like a feathered bird of some kind. And then we too some photos and went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Trattoria Stella, before dropping our graduate off at an open house and then the senior party. It was quite a day and we are so proud and happy to have two of our four children through high school! Can I get an "Amen?"

Books I have and Books I want!

     I'm talking about visual journal books, ATC (artist trading cards) and the like. Here is what I have and what I'm using to play lately...

1.  Kaleidoscope by Suzanne Simanaitis has a lot of focus on collage with a myriad of techniques and lots of fun projects to really get your creative wheels spinning...I love this book. My favorite projects include Susan Tuttle's "Exploring the Landscape Within, a self portrait," and Jill Jones' "Set Your Brain On Fire," among so many. Other contributors you might recognize include: Traci Bunkers, Christine Cox, Juliana Coles, Kate Lyon and Pilar Isabel Pollack. It is a great book to sit and read through to get inspired or just pick a random article to read and technique to try. It is a fabulous book all the way around and I highly recommend it.


2.  Alphabetica by Lynne Perrella is another book I have and love. Full of techniques and inspiration through and through. My favorite part of this book are the Artists Workshops with the Masters. There are 14 "workshops," each just two pages, with great examples on one page, and the directions on the second page, along with a list of each artists' "Studio Essentials" and "Influences." The workshops includes "Composition" with Claudine Hellmuth, "Layering" with Lynne Perrella, "Building Outward" with Lisa Hoffman, "Using Vintage Photos" with Judi Riesch, "Attachments" with Lesley Jacobs, "Transparencies" with Sarah Fishburn, "Using Great Quotes" with Linn C. Jacobs, "Faux and Ancient Surfaces" with Lisa Renner, "Working with Fabric" with Lesley Riley, "Building a Surface with Patterning" with Shirley Ende-Saxe, "Metal Tape and Altered Images" with Karen Michel, "Creating with Recycled Papers" with Monica Riffe, "Constructions" with Michelle Ward and "Working Intuitively" with Teesha Moore. The entire book is bursting with inspiration and techniques to try, but the Workshops make it work every penny and then some! Again, I highly recommend this particular book, one of my top five.

3.  Visual Chronicles by Linda Woods and Karen Dinino is the first book I purchased when I wanted to learn how to create a visual journal. It is full of good basic techniques to get you started and offers answers to any excuses that would keep someone from trying to create a visual journal experience for themselves. The chapters are called "Fear Busters," and each offers several ways to expel that particular fear or excuse. Some of the chapters include: "I have no time," "I can't write," "I'm just not artistic," "I can't draw" and "Nothing happens in my life." I have fallen victim to several of these excuses, so this book was a wonderful starting point for me personally. So if you have never done anything with a visual journal, I highly recommend this book.



More tomorrow...

44 Things to do before I turn 45

I have been inspired by Spindelmaker's blog post to create my own list of things I want to accomplish before I turn 45 in December. I love lists, they give me something to aim for with the added pleasure of closure as I check off finished items. This is going to be fun! I am going to create the list in no particular order, so I can work on it from any direction. BTW, I am borrowing some of Spindelmaker's list ideas, they were very inspiring...and away we go!

1. Read 10 new books
2. Learn to make bath bombs or bath fizzies
3. Get up to 30 laps in half an hour at the pool
4. Submit work to three magazines
5. Write one letter by hand every week(this is going to be really challenging!)
6. Create art postcards to send to friends and family, randomly
7. Learn to make a good pie crust
8. Can at least 10 different things
9. Bike to Suttons Bay
10. Watch 5 sunrises(meaning I have to get up early!)
11. Go camping at least once
12. Put a flower garden in along the fence
13. Make new glass faucet handles for the kitchen sink
14. Make new glass faucet handles for the bathroom sink
15. Finish the mermaid sculpture I have started
16. Clean and fix up my glass/jewelry studio
17. Clean and fix up my basement
18. Sew curtains for Sophie's room and Tess' room
19. Send anonymous gifts to 3 people
20. Participate in a swap of some kind
21. Finish my new Queen of Tides website
22. Learn to make paper from recycled materials
23. Learn how to silk screen onto fabric
24. Spend 4 days alone with my husband
25. Hang up all my vintage mirrors that have been packed away since our move
26. Have 2 garage sales
27. Volunteer at Cherry Festival
28. Volunteer at TC Film Festival
29. Polish some of the wonderful rocks I've collected, especially the Petoskey stones
30. Add 3 new items to my Etsy shop each week
31. Learn to use the vector portion of Illustrator
32. Watch 10 Photoshop tutorials
33. Write 3 chapters of the book I have in my head
34. Get a tattoo
35. Use my metalsmithing equipment to create some gifts
36. Learn a dance of some kind, something fun, like salsa
37. Sort through old family photos with my mom
38. Create a family tree
39. Take a yoga class
40. Grow herbs indoors
41. Learn to make homemade corn tortillas
42. Make our Christmas cards
43. Make glass beads on average, once a week
44. Create a large mosaic

Ok, so I might edit this within the next 48 hours...depends, something may strike me over the next two days, something I've been wanting or meaning to do and forgot.

Wish me luck!

Orthodontia and Rainbows

    The weather was as strange as the range between my daughter's orthodontia appt. and the brilliant partial rainbow over my neighborhood this evening. It was overcast on and off, rainy and sunny at the same time, muggy at times and then cool and breezy at others...such a crazy day.

     Tweaked some of my visual journal pages this morning, but won't get more done until tonight. Also going to attempt to make some "cupcake" bath bombs tonight...it takes two days, one day for the base and the next for the "frosting." They are just the cutest things and I love good bathtime treats, I'm well overdue for a good soak in the tub. Spent the day perusing bath bomb recipes along with problems and solutions others posted on various blogs, really helpful. Then I spent the afternoon looking for all the ingredients...citric acid is not so easy to find! It is one of those things I will have to order by mail in the future to get the best price, and that is if, IF, they turn out on this first go through. I will post photos at the end of the day tomorrow or the day after of the final product.

     I'm posting my "Sister Mary Sunshine" visual journal page. This one was created with one of my own photos of me, lol, because I do look at life on the bright side for the most part, I'm an optimist, always have been and always will be. I don't like the alternative...and life is just too short!


     And lastly, a few photos of the train case I am upcycling to use for my visual journal art supplies. You can see the original steel blue color in the photo where the case is tilted up since I have not painted the bottom yet. The lovely blue is the new base color. I will be adding more layers of color and fun down the line. And then you can see all the supplies I can fit nicely into the case in the last photo.

More Visual Journal and Studio Cleaning...

So I went out to my glass and jewelry studio to work on cleaning and organizing it further today, but only got about 45 minutes under my belt. Those little wispy spiders are everywhere, and although my shop vac is perfect for sucking them up along with all the dust and cobwebs, it still took a lot out of me mentally. I know, being such a wimp about it, thought I had really conquered my fear of 8 legged things. And I'm not so much afraid as I am edgy. When I come across one and it just zooms out, it startles me, and that is what freaks me out. I don't run screaming from the room or call out to my DH to come and "save" me, but I can only come across so many before it gets to me. I was hoping to have my studio all ready in 3 days, but it is looking like this may take me at least a week...sigh.

On a brighter note, I worked on some more visual journal pages and another project. I am revamping a vintage train case or make up case from the 50's or 60's. It was from JC Penney's and was a really dark steely blue with silver toned metal trim. It is a perfect size for taking my visual journal art supplies on the road. I have almost finished the first layer, two coats of a lovely sleeping beauty turquise blue. I still have to paint the bottom and then use a small brush to get into the smaller spaces so it is completely covered. It already looks so pretty and cheerful, much better than the original. I'll take a picture soon of the paint job when that layer is finished. I am posting photos of two new visual journal pages that I'm working on as well. So having fun making art in between cleaning out the studio and running away from spiders...it's all good!

Visual Journal Pages and Studio Clean-up

I've been having more fun than a barrel of monkeys with the visual journal pages I've created. Humungous thanks to Teesha Moore, her website, blog and "How I Journal" instructions. It has been so exciting to take a blank page and watch it come to life in ways I've only been able to imagine, but didn't know what materials, mediums or other tools to use to get there! I'm in such a great creative space, I want to get my glass and jewelry studio up and going again.

Of course, I've not been in it for over 6 months, so it is a total disaster, with cobwebs, little house spiders and more mess than I really want to tackle right now, but feeling compelled to take control of it so I can use it. I think I can even make a spot to work on my journal pages if I want to...we'll see! Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!!!