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    T Tuesday: the last day and then some edition

    June 10, 2019 - By 

    At my school the last day is grade level field trips. I went with 7th grade to Nickelodeon Universe at Mall of America. Nothing like setting 6 bus loads of kids free at the mall (and that was just from our school).

    We walked in under this beautiful and interactive art installation.

    There was a rope attached with a sign that read “Pull rope to help her fly“.  The kids had fun helping her flap her wings. Here’s a little news clip about it if you’d like to see more including a video of it in motion.

    I went on 3 rides during our time at the mall. The first was the worst…hard on the body…very jerky, spinny and not for the feint of heart. The second was also pretty scary but not so hard on the body.

    All those teal twists and turns made me scream a few times much the the glee of the students.

    This was the view from the Ferris wheel…nice and slow with a great view of the park.

    Over the weekend I did some outdoor sprucing up. I stitched up some new buntings for my gardens…

    FYI…My glass of water is just out of frame on the step in adherence with T stands for Tuesday.

    And refreshed some metal garden art…

    I used several cans of spray paint to brighten up the flower. I’m not sure I love it but it’s so much better than before!

    This little sign really needed help and a 3D element. I had two of these metal flowers. They have a metal pin out from the back. I used a tie tack back and a washer to hold it on the sign. IT hangs from a shepherds hook along the front walk.

    Today I took Mini-me to take her drivers test…and she passed!! Then I sent her to Target on an errand.

    Woot! She did great. She is so happy…so am I! Now she can drive herself to work and school and volleyball and well you get the picture…

    Tuesday morning we are getting a new roof put on the house. I know…super exciting. I’ve got all kinds of busy work to do in the house while the nail guns are hammering.

    T stands for Tuesday
    What are you doing today?
  • Art - Blog - Creativity

    Words of wisdom to a child

    June 9, 2019 - By 

    Last week I found this image I’d printed ages ago…I knew immediately that it would become a focal point in an upcoming journal page.

    Since I’ve been using the term “mop up paper” quite often lately I thought I’d share a bit of a process post to give visuals to my words.

    This is where my page started. A sheet of blue copy paper 8.5 x 11 inches. I used a glue stick to adhere it to some lightweight card stock.

    After the glue was dry I cut it down to my desired size of 7 x 7 inches. Next I got out craft paints and used my favorite tool…my fingers…to spread several colors of paint over the page.

    Some of the colors are more transparent than others allowing the original color and marks to show through.

    Look at that yummy texture…  I decided to let this air dry overnight instead of drying it with the heat gun.

    Of course this is where my process failed…I totally forgot about the fact that I was taking photos step by step.

    I used rubber stamps to create some background texture. The black ink harlequin was super subtle…I felt I needed a bit more color and shape. Since most of my stamp pads are pigment ink I used clear embossed powder to set the ink.

    I also took the completed background to my sewing machine to stitch a funky border in black to contain everything.

    Next I created some layers with paper and fabric to give an anchor to my image.

    Last but not least was the words of wisdom to a little girl learning to tie shoes with her daddy’s shoes. I love that they are on the wrong feet too.

    Not only am I linking up with Words to live by on Art Journal Journey guest hosted by yours truly….

    Art Journal Journey

    but I am also linking up with Try it on Tuesday for Make a Mark.

     

     

     

  • Blog

    Words to live by

    June 1, 2019 - By 

    I’m super excited to announce that I have the honor of hosting over at Art Journal Journey this month.

    Art Journal Journey

    I have chosen the theme of Words to live by.

    An art journal page just doesn’t seem complete without at least one word on it if you ask me. I’d say that I’m a stickler for the rules and true definition of a journal but that would be a big fat lie. I’m more of a rules are meant to be broken sort of gal…just don’t tell my kids at home or school. However, the gals over at Art Journal Journey do have some rules to adhere to if you want to play along so be sure to check them out.

    For my first journal page of the June theme, I began with an abandoned piece of painted watercolor paper. I think Mini-me was attempting a night sky perhaps. Or maybe it was even me…who knows…who cares. It became the base as I began to stack layers of papers and fabric until I found a pleasing arrangement.

    I used my sewing machine to loosely stitch the background layers together while I still contemplated where my page was headed. I rarely have an end goal in mind when I sit down to create. It really tends to stifle my creative process.

    After a time, I decided on an image I know I have used at least once…but I’m thinking perhaps twice in the past as my focal point. I slipped a piece of dictionary page and scrap of vellum under the image before attaching it with brads. 

    The page was really coming together now. I added a few extras such as washi tape, a punched medallion and vintage button before searching out words for my page.

    In general the words are my last but critical step in my journal process. As I said before, I cannot seem to create a page with words. Found text is really my favorite way of adding words. The challenge to find something relevant that speaks my mind is so much fun!

    When I noticed this phrase I thought it very fitting for the crew in the photo. What is up with this group anyway? Siblings, co-workers, man and his many wives, school chums, glee club…what’s their story? I bet it could start with the phrase “Strangest thing happened…”

    Won’t you join me for Words to live by over at Art Journal Journey?

    Art Journal Journey