• Art - Crafts - Creativity

    T Tuesday: collage and college edition

    Lets start with the collage since this is an art blog after all. I decided to attack my scrap pile and make a few mini collage pieces as card backgrounds.  It’s been a long time since I made any cards.  It was really fun…why did I put it off so long.

    I even got out my sewing machine to add a bit of stitching to a few places. I decided to leave all but one of the cards without any sort of greeting or sentiment right now. That way I can add whatever I want when the time comes to fit the personality and appropriate greeting for the recipient.

    As expected I missed last weeks edition of T stands for Tuesday. We were on the road bringing J to college. We were up before the crack of dawn to get on the road.

    My baby bulldog’s new home.

    Shockingly we traveled lighter than some for move in day. We’ve started a bag of stuff to bring on parent weekend in October.

    *note the waterbottle in accordance with T stands for Tuesday guidelines*

    Then this happened the day after we dropped him off at school.

    Today was his first day of classes. He bought his books, made it to all classes and sent me a nice selfie to add to my first day of school photos. It’s a good day. For me I had my first half day back to work. Another half day this week then back full time the following Tuesday. I was super excited when on the third attempt I remembered my locker combo. HA!

    We are settling into our new normal. Soon I’ll have my sewing machine set up in the unoccupied bedroom. I have several projects I’ve been thinking about and just some repairs that need attention.

    I have a ton more stuff to talk about but we have a big storm rolling in and I’m thinking I may have to shut this computer down for a while. I’ll save it for another post.

    What are you doing today?
  • Around home - Blog - Crafts - Creativity - Outdoors

    T Tuesday: eco dye edition

    Last week on T stands for Tuesday I had mentioned that I had attempted some eco dyed papers. Today I thought I’d share my results with you.

    Last we left off I had bundled my papers and my cooking pot was way too small….

    One trip to Goodwill later, I found the perfect size pot in which to cook my paper bundle. 

    The bundle wanted to float since it was pine boards that acted as the presser boards. A couple rocks worked well to hold the bundle down in the vinegar and alum spiked water. I boiled on the side burner of our grill for about and hour. Thank goodness I did this outside because it was not pleasant smelling. Also I learned that the pine boards had a lot of sap left in them…what a mess.

    After boiling I drained off the cooking water then added cool water which I salted quite heavily. Once everything was cool enough to handle I started the unbundling process.

    Then set the pages to dry on the hot concrete. I was surprised at what did and didn’t leave an impression. The marigolds and lemon grass had the greatest color from the experiment.  But that wasn’t my favorite.

    It was these….the baby maple trees I pulled from my lawn were lovely ghosted images.

    A few freshly turned leaves from our service berry tree gave a slightly rusty, vein like appearance as it’s only impression. Pretty as well but still not holding my interest like those baby maples.

    I think I’ll try this again…but perhaps with other sources for dyes. Purple cabbage and onion skins are the first to jump to my mind. I think perhaps I’d get some nice color out of those.

    Speaking of color….

    I enjoyed a colorful sort of beer this summer. Grain Belt came out with a limited edition Blueberry infused beer. I had to buy some…its local and we like to support our local business. That’s my excuse and I’m stickin’ to it. It was pretty in color and pretty tasty too. Not that you’d really want to drink more than one…too sweet for that.

    Anyway…this Tuesday I will be late in visiting…

    Next week I may miss all together unless I prepost. We are taking J to college!! Move in day is the 21st. Crazy!!

    What are you doing today?

  • Around home - Blog - Creativity - Outdoors

    Inspired to Eco Dye

    I’ll admit it…I went down the rabbit hole this morning watching eco dye videos on YouTube. although I got nothing physically accomplished during that time I was definitely inspired to give it a whirl myself.

    I picked up a pad of 100lb watercolor paper at a garage sale for 50¢. I figured this was good fodder for my experiment.  I walked around the yard picking various leaves, weeds and flowers to give variety since I really have no idea what will work the best. I also searched through the scrap lumber in the shed for wood to sandwich my pages between. 

    my bundle is all ready to go…just one problem…

    The cooking pot is too small. I fear we got rid of the large one that was in the shed at some point. A trip to Goodwill is in order before I can actually run my experiment.

    While in the yard I discovered that my dream catcher did its job and kept the pesky deer from eating my tiger lily blossoms.

    So pretty! Love the bright orange.