• Art - Blog - Creativity

    A second look: Friendship

    Today I’d like to share a second look at an assemblage I created a couple years ago.  This is one of those pieces that I keep thinking I’m going to give as a gift or list in my etsy store but I just can’t seem to get myself to do it.  In fact, it’s currently sitting right beside me on my desk.

    friendship

    Perhaps I need to make another similar piece so I can let go of this one.

    Take a look….

    eyes

    6/4/2014

    I spent some time on YouTube last week….likely sent there from Pinterest.  (See why I try and stay away from the screens…I get lost…sidetracked…and waste oodles of time.)  I often like watching “fast forwards” of journal pages, collage and painting. I’m most interested in seeing how people go from blank page to competed project. Not the particular products they use. Not to emulate what they did.  Just the process. The stumbles.  The bad choices of color or image and how they kept going and turned it into something amazing…or not.

     I often search out new unique ideas in an effort to continue to use the stacks of book pages I’ve torn from my journals and salvaged books. Since I’d been using some paper flowers on my cards and other projects recently, I thought I should potentially make them from book pages myself.  I found a rolled rose tutorial. The technique is very well explained yet I immediately deviated a bit from what she said. I’m not big on following the rules and directions. I prefer to make it up as I go along. 20140603_5026This first one is made mostly like the tutorial states…so it’s a tightly rolled flower.

    20140603_5025

    These are more my own style and lay much flatter…more useful in a variety of projects.

    But the ones used in the project below are my first blossoms. I just had to see how some spray mists would look on them. Gorgeous! Now what…20140601_4994Well…I had picked up a bunch of embroidery hoops at a garage sale a couple weeks ago to add to my ever growing collection. I have a thing for circles. I can’t seem to pass them up. This hoop happened to roll onto my work surface and land on some glimmer mist splattered paper. The idea I had seen on YouTube popped into my head. An embroidery hoop as a frame. Of course, that video used 3 hoops and was a wall hanging scrapbook layout. Like I said…I use videos as inspiration…not copy.20140601_4995It’s a little bit vintage… a little bit shabby chic…and a whole lotta me. 😉

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Thanks for joining me today for Second on the 2nd.

  • Blog - Creativity - Photography

    2016 Summertime Photo Scavenger hunt wrap-up

    The summer has ended and so has the hunt for photos. I like to wrap things up with a recap of the old and any newly snapped photos. This year I only missed one on the list but got an alternative to takes it’s place. In the past I’ve gotten every single one including the alternates.

    1. A “wild heart” – a naturally occurring heart (like the rock above, but it doesn’t have to be a rock)summer photo huntHostas in my backyard

    2. A footprint or pawprint

    paw-print

    Husky paw print

    3. A skeleton, bone or x-ray

    bones-collageAt the orthopedist

    4. A book or magazine read during 2016

    books

    Lots of books…can’t stop reading…

    5. A porch or deck

    deck collage

    Trex Deck at the MN landscape Arboretum

    6. A camper (caravan)

    summer photo hunt

    Camper trailer

    7. A family gatheringsummer photo hunt

    Independence day gathering

    8. A drawing, art project, artistic photograph, scrapbook page, greeting card, or art journal page created by you.summer photo huntObviously this isn’t my only creation of the summer…if you’d like to see more just browse around the blog. 🙂

    9. Someone playing with, in, or around water.summer photo hunt4th of July waterfight….a tradition

    10. A bicyclebikeAt a parking lot next to a state bike trail.

    11. Fresh producesummer photo huntBeans from my garden and CSA box

    12. A windowwindowThe broken remains of my drivers side window…you can read about it here.

    13. The moonsummer photo huntLucky low light shot of the moon over the house.

    14. A buffet of foodsummer photo hunt4th of July gather again…

    15. A team logoteamsSome of our beloved local teams…current and former.

    16. A map showing a trip taken during the time period

    map

    Mini-me and I traveled to Alexandria over the summer for a girls weekend.

    map-2This close-up map has both lakes that we stayed on…if you look closely you can see my reflection.

    17. Twinssummer photo huntI took a bit of liberty with this one just because it made me laugh.

    18. A supermarket cart, basket or trolley full of groceries cart

    Back to school stock up at Target

    19. A seasonal cocktail or beveragesummer drinkMoscow Mule…favorite summer drink!!

    20. Someone laughing

    This is the one I didn’t get mostly because I don’t show faces on my blog if at all possible.

    21. A photograph of you with a newspaper or calendar page from the time period covered in the Hunt. Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.

    timely-photoI believe this one is self explanatory

    Alternatives – if you’re having trouble finding any of the above, you may substitute from this list (but you may not substitute for item #21):
    alternative 1: a lighthouse

    No lighthouse either

    alternative 2: a baby (human or animal)

    alt-baby

    Can you see the baby? Cute little “O”.

    That about wraps it up. I’m not sure what happened to Rinda’s blog as it hasn’t been updated since June but I do know that the Facebook group has been active so I’ll be posting there. I do hope to continue with photo scavenger hunts…they are really fun and a real challenge at times to get creative and think outside the box.

  • Art - Creativity

    Memory course

    I had to take a break from sewing to work on and an art journal page. I definitely have to have more than one project at a time. My attention span demands it. A short browse on my workspace was all that it took to get the ideas flowing.

    I grabbed a piece of cardboard, scrapbook paper and distress paints to get started. The scrapbook paper had an off-road motorcycle theme…I liked the colors but not the theme. That’s where the paint comes in. Just covered up what I didn’t want. I always have a small bin of words and phrases close at hand so I picked out a few that seemed to speak to me while the paint dried.

    memory course art journal page

    The page from an old math book seemed very fitting. It made me think of all those formulas that are so important that you have to memorize. I still have a few of those banging around in my brain that surface when I need them. I’m always the first to point out to my kids when I’m actually using some of that knowledge from school that I swore “I’d never use again”. I certainly don’t use it every day but I do use it.

    I had a very unexpected result when I was heating the embossing powder around the edges of my page. The old, dry math book page started to burn…not flames but turned brown and smelled like it was burning.  I’ve never had that happen. Now I’d like to try it on purpose. I think it could be a really cool effect for say an old letter or map. I need to do it next to the sink though, just in case. 🙂

    memory course art journal page

    Yes now that I look at my date stamp I realize that I read the 9 as a 6 when looking at it backward on the stamp. No, I did not make this page in the future and travel back to post it. If I had the ability to time travel I’d do something much more interesting than that!!!

    I’m linking up today with Art Journal Journey with the Back to School theme.

    Art Journal Journey