Musing Crow Designs

Blue Fields

2012-02-25T11:07:00.000-08:00

I was tired after work yesterday - as usual - but I wanted to feel some paint flowing over brush before I turned in for the evening. In 1995 I took an aerial photograph of fields in Louisville, Kentucky and this was the inspiration for this little watercolor. Just being able to produce a small bit of art made my day complete.

Some 'Perfect Pearls' enhanced the 'fingernails' and small dots of Ranger "Stickles" added a bit 'o' bling to a few selected areas.

'Flow' Is On

2012-02-21T21:37:00.002-08:00

"Lime" ATC for Arts In The Cards swap

I think I'm in the flow and it is a wonderful, energizing, place to be. I haven't been there for awhile but I sure am enjoying it and hope it will last awhile. Some of you may know that I am a member of a gifted group of artistic women who swap ATCs based on a theme each month. Arts In The Cards has been a real inspiration for me for the past couple of years and I continue to learn a lot from these amazing women

I've been on a roll with watercolors lately. The properties of watercolors enchant me and I am having a great time playing with their capabilities (and my own!) - seeing what they can do on a variety of substrates.


9" X 11" "Journal Quilt Sized" - watercolors and inks on tussah silk.

Our ATC group recently started an adjunct journey called Arts In The Cards Revisioned. This is to encourage us to use the textiles we love - since we are all quilters in the bone I think! We have very few rules other than to use cloth and, at the moment, to use a regular 'journal quilt' sized format. We tossed around the idea of using squares - or using either rectangles or square - but for the moment we'll all work in a standard size. The 'ReVisioned' part comes into play because we are revisiting, rethinking, renewing, re-birthing or otherwise reconnecting with a thought, image, technique or theme that we think deserves more attention.

Close up

For me the choice was easy because I want to continue to work within 'boundaries' and work with watercolors and silks. Watercolors have captured my creative imagination more than most any other medium I can think of and silks are magic to me. I've been coloring them as scarves for some time and just want to continue enjoying the softness and sheen that they offer. I'm having a blast learning about watercolors an silks. They are both magical and their capabilities (and mine!) are being stretched.

For my first "ReVisioned" project I began with tussah silk for the substrate - stabilized with Sulky Heat-Away. I sectioned the cloth, painted the sections with watercolors and began to draw and doodle - using words for inspiration. It was a process of experimentation to find which pens worked the best. I auditioned Pigma Microns, Koh-I-Noor Rapidograhs, Sharpies, Identi-Pens and more to find which pen bled the least and gave the darkest color. The result surprised me. It was a Bic Z4+ needle point 0.5 nibbed pen. Who would have thought?!

Close Up

I used a variety of watercolors (and brands of watercolors) from tubes, pans, sticks and pencils. I used Perfect Pearls and glitter glue. Quilted Creations Crystal Coat Glaze and Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer played a part as did Ranger's Enamel Accents. I had a ball experimenting with all kinds of things to get this project done.

Transparency in textiles first fired my imagination in Houston at Quilt Festival some years ago when I saw an exhibit of transparent silk textiles from Japan one year at Houston's Quilt Festival. The images have remained in my brain and I think I am finally ready to begin experimenting with my own versions of those lustrous creations. Therefore the backing of this piece is also a piece of tussah silk. The natural light cream color is so beautiful and shiny! Light shines through the layers nicely and it's giving me a point to begin my studies of watercolors and silks. I'm excited with the possibilities and pray that my creative muse will maintain my energy for some time to come.

I think I have actually found a combination of ingredients on which I want to focus some time and energy. Hooray for flow! Speaking of which I highly recommend the book "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience" by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. He explained this wonderful feeling so well!

Another close up

Wordless Wednesday

2012-02-15T09:46:00.001-08:00

The sky and clouds have been amazing lately.... makes going to and coming from.... work so very worthwhile!

A Good Reason To NOT Throw A Magazine Away Too Quickly!

2012-02-13T13:31:00.000-08:00

I often toss magazines quickly - especially if I have not, at first glance, seen anything that tickles my fancy. This cover is from the Holiday 2011 issue of Knit Simple Magazine. In my initial "flip through" nothing caught my eye but, rather than toss it away as I generally do, I stuck in a magazine pile. Last weekend as I sorted the magazines to either keep or 'round file' I noticed Vicki Howell's cowl on the cover. Not quite my color or style but it intrigued me. I had some beautiful Madeline Tosh Merino in colorway Byzantine (worsted weight) in my stash - enough to try this pattern withing spending any additional money right away.

This pattern is knit carrying two strands on the needles throughout the pattern. Using size 11 needles felt ungainly to my hands since I've been using lace weight yarns recently. I love cables and, although this is a simple cable, it really is an effective design element. The pattern knit up quickly, looks great and surely keeps my tender neck (short hair!) warm. Yes, another is already on my needles.

The most difficult thing was finding buttons to use! These are from my vintage stash and look fine - and are a good color match. Unfortunately they are also a bit too small - so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for more suitable sized buttons.

The Madeline Tosh yarn is luxurious; soft and warm and lovely to work with. I'm glad I took another look at this magazine - and since I had let my subscription lapse - I just renewed it!

This is the quite to true the 'real' color of this beautiful yarn. Warm, rich, mellow reds.

Wordless Wednesday :Turn Towards Grey

2012-02-08T11:06:00.001-08:00

Questioning

2012-02-06T12:38:00.000-08:00

I just spent my days off playing catch up with projects that I have committed to. I enjoyed the time but the more commitments I have, the less time I have to spend on my own work - which is what I really feel I need to do.

One of the projects I worked on is a book swap. Each person chose a theme and prepared a book. Mine is the smallest - a Moleskine small watercolor book. My theme is 'typography'. I am amazed at what true works of art some of these books are. Amazing work - as I had never seen such books before - nor worked in any I should add. It's more than journaling - it's a themed topic in fantastical books. The flow of the exchange got jammed up, I guess, over the holidays. I have ended up with two books to work in all at once - plus the other swaps I normally do every month. I was feeling stressed over the things that should be relaxing for me - and I began to resent the stress ... I hope that did not come out in the work I added to these books. I got things done this weekend though and feel an inner sigh of relief - I have one book to work in next weekend and the shipping flow should be easier.

Do you ever have a little tingle that crawls up your spine to your brain - signaling some sort of sea change is about to happen? That's the way I've been feeling lately. I'm not sure what it is or what it will mean but something is at work in my psyche.....and I feel like I have to allow it to happen. I think it has something to do with focus. I feel like a cat that is shedding it's un-needed winter coat - as though something is falling away and another thing is about to 'move in'. Odd I know - but there it is.

I find that I am spending more time with imagery - and am not sure where 'home' is for these wanderings of my eye. A new blog devoted to images? I feel like I am boring those of you who stop here for mixed media and textile art. My senses are also closing the circle again and bringing me back to textile art and also to the magic of watercolors. Knitting will remain my evening focus - but I feel like my obsessions are re-arranging themselves.... my need to focus on fewer things is strong. I wonder where it will take me - if any thing does change!

And - on a bit of a rant....... I am getting so tired of places and people who offer something as a give-away, prize or service but make it conditional on doing a series of things. Like - first leave a comment here and then 'like' my FaceBook page and then to do this or that. I totally get the idea - it's most likely in marketing 101 (I never said I was a good self promoter!). Of course I can choose to not take part - which is what I do - but these little 'have tos' all add up to additional stress and I wonder why we allow that to happen. Isn't it good enough that we like someone's work enough to read their blog or FB page? Why all of the going hither and tither to add to the 'stats'? Okay that's my rant and I'm sticking to it !

That's about it from this end of the wonderful, wacky world - more soon. I need to decide where my imagery will be 'housed'! Have a great week everyone. We have a cold sunny day here - and for me it's household chores day - so I better get cracking and stop procrastinating!

Kat Sloma's Photo Heart Connection January 2012

2012-02-01T19:01:00.000-08:00

Roche Harbor Road, San Juan Island, Washington

Kat Sloma, artist and photographer had an idea in January - and it's a very good one!

The idea: At the end of each month, review the images you worked with in that month for the one that gives you the strongest connection to your heart and soul. Write about that connection to the image in a blog post or in a photo description on Flickr, then link into the monthly link up. You can get to know the other photographers seeking the same connection, by visiting the links and reading their experiences. We will find our kindred spirits.

This is one of my favorite images from January. It was taken during one of our increasingly scarce snow falls - I had been scheduled for some days off during the storm and this was the first day I had to get back to work. I love the semi-artistic quality that I infused into the image - it reminds me of the stark, cold beauty of snow falls and how the sky seems large and seriously grey while the bareness of the trees and bushes can give a burst of color here and there in an otherwise white landscape

Morning Glory

2012-02-01T10:03:00.001-08:00

As I was driving to work this morning I was struck by how beautifully the sun was reflecting on the low lying fog that was clinging to the valley floors. It was, truly, morning glory & the scene was a wonderful way to begin my day!

Mood Winter

2012-01-31T09:09:00.001-08:00

although it's always about this time of of year that I swear my feet are sprouting webs there is beauty and color in the bare limbs of trees, winter clouds that hang heavy in the valleys and bushes that display a warm,rich palette of russets, golds, greys and browns.

New ATC's : Red

2012-01-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

This month, over on Arts In The Cards we're using the color red as a theme. In fact the whole year will be filled with observations on colors. I plan to have a very good time !

This month's red theme got off to a good start using the wonderfulness of Tagxedo to create a word cloud about all things red. I printed the cloud onto silk gampi tissue and glued it to the card stock using my favorite Perfect Paper Adhesive (matte) and then added some small strips of red and black decorative papers.

The symbol on the upper right is that of mudlahara - the base or root chakra which is associated with the color red. I cut it from card stock, added red lines and then topped the lines with Sakura 3D crystal lacquer & added bright yellow glitter glue to the center triangle. The Japanese Kanji characters-read top to bottom- are those for red, love & dragon. We are now in the Chinese year of the Dragon and dragons are often associated with the color red too. The characters were printed on card stock, colorized for a more vintage feel and then added to the page using 3D adhesive dots (as was the mudlahara sybol. I like the slightly raised effect. Finally, I edged the cards with red & white striped twine.

Here you can see the reverse side of the card. I used another, much smaller word cloud also printed on Gampi with decorative tape around the edges. I decided that I needed to add a translation of the Kanji characters too.

I have some more post card sized cards to finish. This is a shortie week end for me. I'm working on Monday this week which I normally don't do...the up side to that is that I will have next Friday off. Hooray!

Happy Sunday to all and to all a good night.

Beaded Felt Bag ReDux

2012-01-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

One side of the finished bag. Oddly enough choosing a zipper for this bag was one of the most difficult things - nothing looked a hundred percent 'right'. When in doubt - choose lime!

It seems that a lot of people I know are are using the gloom of winter days to finish projects. I've been rethinking my felted bags lately - considering how to simplify my process so that I can try to sell them. At present just the handle takes me 2-3 hours and no one will pay for that I know! I had not planned to hop on the 'finish wagon' until I walked by this heavily beaded quilted felt wall hanging that I had made a couple of years ago.

Honestly, it did nothing for me as it hung on the wall. It was too small, at 9" X 12", to make any impact . I had just thought about how much I enjoy using the knitting bag I made and, as I walked past this, I thought about what a great knitting notions bag it would make. I took it down from the wall, washed it in the machine and set about making it into a bag. The size is decent although I could not add the gusset I wanted because of the heavy beading. My hands were really aching when I finally finished it! Aside from being used as a notions bag it will also make a fine small purse. I lined it with a magenta bali batik fabric and added two pockets to the lining- so it will hold a check book and a few essentials- lip balm, phone etc.

I'm happy that I landed on the 'finish wagon', or in my case, the 're-make wagon'!.

This is the other side with a beaded fringe at the top.

Detail of side 1 showing the braided handle

Detail of the fringe beading on the top of side 2

Detail of beading on side 2

PostMark'd Art Roping Cowgirl Valentine

2012-01-18T16:02:00.000-08:00

Roses on My Table has a Valentine's theme for the PostMark'd Art swap this month. I decided to do a larger version of my Cowboy's Sweetheart ATC the swap. Unfortunately the textured metal hearts do not look as good in the image as they do in the hand. The edge is jute twine that I thought would tie in with the Cowgirl roper theme.

I'm not sure why I enjoy swapping these small pieces of art so much but I do.

The gals from Arts In The Cards and I have started a new venture - a journal quilt sized textile art theme that we have called "Arts In The Cards : ReVisioned". We'll have bi-monthly challenges and I'm just waiting for us to choose the theme to get going. I found I really needed a more textile oriented challenge - and I am hoping this will fill the bill. I designed the blog yesterday - but may have to tone it down in the future !

What are your plans for Heart (Valentine's) Day? WE'll be home being simple, snug and warm!

ATC's for January Groups

2012-01-14T19:03:00.000-08:00


Happy 2nd Anniversary to us at Arts In The Cards! The front is made from a card with a gampi overlay of 2's in circles. The hands are painted with some iridescent medium which made getting a decent photograph a real challenge for me. The hands have red fingernails that are covered with a high gloss finish. The back of the card is also a Gampi tissue overlay from a self portrait

I've been staying at least the tiniest bit creative during the work - although work seems to make a real slug out of me and my energy level is nil in the evenings. The two ATC trade groups that I do try to stay current with are Arts In The Cards and Roses on my Table.

Arts In The Cards is celebrating our 2nd anniversary this month. The cards above are in honor of that achievement.

Below are the set I made for the Roses swap. The theme was "Cowboy's Sweetheart" which is about as far away from something that is comfortable for me as the man in the moon. I did have fun these though and I am so glad to return to the Roses fold after a brief hiatus at the end of last year.

More soon! Happy MLK long weekend to all !

30 Things To Stop Doing

2012-01-03T19:59:00.000-08:00

I found this article on Alice Regan's Blog . She got it from Marc and Angels website. Somehow it all rang true to me - some of the things are so obvious- obvious of course with the benefit of hindsight at my now less- than-spring-chicken age. I wish I had grasped some of these admonitions earlier in life - but hey - I get it now! I hope some you will find it an interesting article as well.

Happy New Year! Happy New Avenues For Growth! Happy New Opportunities To be Creative !

On my way to work one morning a couple of weeks ago. What a beautiful world!

As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.” Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.
Here are some ideas to get you started:

Stop spending time with the wrong people. – Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
Stop running from your problems. – Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living – to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
Stop lying to yourself. – You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.
Stop putting your own needs on the back burner. – The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
Stop trying to be someone you’re not. – One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
Stop trying to hold onto the past. – You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
Stop being scared to make a mistake. – Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. – We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
Stop trying to buy happiness. – Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free – love, laughter and working on our passions.
Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness. – If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness.
Stop being idle. – Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
Stop thinking you’re not ready. – Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. – Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen – in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. – In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
Stop trying to compete against everyone else. – Don’t worry about what others doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
Stop being jealous of others. – Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. – Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason – to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
Stop holding grudges. – Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
Stop letting others bring you down to their level. – Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others. – Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.
Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. – The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments. – Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
Stop trying to make things perfect. – The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done.
Stop following the path of least resistance. – Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.
Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. – It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either – cry if you need to – it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
Stop blaming others for your troubles. – The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility – you give others power over that part of your life.
Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
Stop worrying so much. – Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. – Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
Stop being ungrateful. – No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.

Photo by: Rob Brucker

When You Just Need A Little Space

2012-01-01T21:28:00.000-08:00

I've kept a journal for nearly 30 years. During most of that time my journaling was written, perhaps with some ticket stubs or other small memorabilia glued in. Thankfully, some years ago I discovered the wonders of art, or visual, journaling and ever since then my journals have had more allure than ever for me. It's something I look forward to doing.

Let's face it though - there are many days when there is nothing much of note to write about. Some days I simply note the temperature (to prove how moderate a climate I live in - albeit with a lot of winter clouds). As I paged through the November-December issue of Somerset Studio I stumbled across an article by Kate Crane in which she detailed how to compose a monthly calendar with just enough space to add some basic observations and doodles.

I was feeling impatient and, perhaps more to the point, very tired when I made this page - so, as you can see, my spacing is off, texture is lacking and and planning and forethought are somewhat awry for January's page - but I can really this developing into a way to keep track of some bare miniumums in one handy spot - with all of the other pages devoted to more lengthy ruminations or mixed media fun things. I'll be adding some borders and doodles and thickening up some of the lettering that's already there - 2012 looks a bit skimp to me - but all in all it was fun thing to slap together and I the months to come will be more artfully arranged - but no less fun!

I guess I always look for ways to encourage my friends to journal - it's so much fun to look back on what your doing and where you were doing it as the years fly by. It gives me a sense of perspective - after all all you have to lose is memories - and they can be pretty sweet at times!

Happy New Year

2011-12-31T18:26:00.000-08:00


You should be able to double click for a larger, easier-to-read, view

Mixed Media Post Card Swap To Start The New Year

2011-12-25T19:17:00.000-08:00

Friend Judy H. posted about this swap on her blog and I had to have a look at Musings On Reality's swap. I had to add my name to the list as well. I did one other post card swap like this and it was wonderful to get art cards from all over the world to add to my growing collection! Have a look and consider joining in the fun, The more the merrier - or should I say "the art-ier ?!

Wishing You Love, Laughter and A Bit Of Santa-Magic

2011-12-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

As this new day dawns

I wish you all a Season of Love,

Laughter and a bit of 'Santa-Magic'.

My wish for everyone is that

the New Year will bring you peace and prosperity and a surfeit of creative energy!

"Clouds appear

 and bring to men 

a chance to rest

 from looking at the moon."

Basho 

Local Craft Supply Access Can Be A Wonderful Thing! Plus My Home When I Am Not At Home !

2011-12-24T12:10:00.000-08:00

Most of you are aware that I live on a rural island. Going to a crafts store is an all day 'adventure' and the cost of the ferry service is making all but essential trips off island too costly. My friend, Janet, had told me that a new store had opened on island and that I needed to go and check it out. Of course, me being the laggard I can be, it took until yesterday to go and have a gander. I was thrilled to see a varied selection of many crafting essentials. From card making and scrapbooking to knitting, quilting, painting and paper crafts, we now have a pace to call home in our small community - and it is a very joyful thing ! Shop owner, Bonnie Turman, is ready and willing to help you find the tools you're looking for and is open to suggestions about what to add. She is already making plans to expand her shop! She stocks products from Fiskars, Ranger, Red Heart, and many other well know craft companies. Finally we have a local place to get our essentials - I breathed a sigh of relief as I left the shop - with a wee package in my hand I should add! Thanks Bonnie - I hope you are swamped with business!

As I looked around my office yesterday I thought about what a nice space three of us are able to enjoy. In my most humble opinion we have the loveliest office in the County and, if I can't be home, this is a very decent second choice. Note that you can double click on these photos for a larger view (at least I hope you can!)

This is my work area. You can see that the plants really like the light - although the view itself is droll and uninteresting.

This is the view standing at the far end of my desk looking towards the entry door. We hung one of my quilts my my office mate's desk and it added a nice, warm feeling I think. Those of you who look hard at the picture will notice that there is a "license plate" on my bulletin board. It was a gift and it says "I'm A Princess"....

Happy Solstice To All ! .... and Walnut Inks From Tsukinenko

2011-12-21T19:00:00.000-08:00

Wishing You All The Magic Of The Winter Solstice and The Peace of The Season !

*********************************************************************************

Late in November my friend Lauren and I took a girl's day off island and hit some of the art supply places that we occasionally miss being able to visit as much as we treasure our remote island life. I had been remarkable resolute with my plan to spend money judiciously - at least I had been prior to this visit to Michael's!

I had seen these Walnut Inks from Tsukinenko before and had passed over them thinking that were in, in all actuality, walnut inks - the sort I am familiar with using with dip pens. This time however, I took a look at the box this set came in and decided to give them a try. This was just my first look at the inks on paper and I can see some real play time int he future. They result in beautiful, rich colors in the warm, earthy tones I love. I'll share some play time soon but if you too have passed over these inks in the past you might consider trying a bottle. This set had, in order of the photo below: Terra -cotta, Eucalyptus, Walnut & Java.

Computing Disaster Day!

2011-12-11T15:46:00.001-08:00

My Xmas gift this year is a doozie - a new Apple I Mac. I had been dreaming about having one for so long! It arrived yesterday and, at the behest of DH, I opened it and got the migration assistant going - so I thought! According to the assistant I had about 14 hours to wait - so when I went to bed I envisioned that all would be well when I woke up.

When I woke up there was "blue bar" progress but it now read that it would take 56 house and 19 minutes. I decided that something had to be wrong and so I called tech support. My neck began to ache as the hours online with tech grew longer. After a couple of trouble shooting hours he thought that we/I was on the right track - and decided that he would call be back later to check on things. I made progress on migrating things onto the new computer with the help of a flash drive. Mail worked, Internet worked - I was beginning to be happy.

When the tech called again though we ran some diagnostic and discovered that there was only one hard drive on the machine - there were supposed to be two - one smaller and one very large.

Bottom line. I have wasted an entire day off fiddling with this beauty only to find that it has to be returned. Maybe I will have a new computer by Xmas - maybe not. It really is a drag - but there are silver linings too. I found a problem with the hard drive of my Mac Book Pro (which could have caused serious problems in the future had we not discovered it). It is now repaired and, by opening my Xmas gift early I gave myself a chance to still have the new one in time for the holiday. If I had waited to open this until Xmas I would have spent a very frustrating holiday indeed. So - although it was an irritating day filled with wasted effort in the long run it probably worked out for the best.

One thing I tell you though is that this 27" screen is absolutely stunning. You can have four full sized windows operating at the same time. I had wanted get the smaller screen but the options I wanted were only available on this new monster screen. It's brilliant and beautiful - and I think I will like it very well !

I'm ready for a nap now !

After

2011-12-09T21:57:00.001-08:00

I've been admiring the winter look on the land this week. The colors, though muted for the season seem so sensuous and rich - a deep gold played against the evergreen or bare white branches against the skyline.

As I was driving home one afternoon this week I noticed the way the sky looked framed by the gentle bare branches of the winter woods. I had to stop and take a picture. It was such a beautiful sight.

Happy weekend to all and to all a good night !

Machine Embroidered Flowers, Woodlands & Landacapes: The Art of Alison Holt

2011-12-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

* * * * *

Paperback: 144 pages
Publisher: Search Press (October 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-13: 978-1844483457
Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches

This is a cross post from my book blog - I had to share it here to because I love this book so much!

For anyone who loves the work of Annamieke Mein or Jane Hall you're in for a treat with this latest book from Alison Holt. Lush andbeautiful are words that just don't quite describe this book that is parteye-candy and part super well done instruction.

This is a book that is really about the art of 'seeing' and translating what you seeinto poetry made with thread. The instructional part of the book is very wellwritten, with excellent photographs that illustrate the process very well.Search Press has always, in my opinion, spotted good books and publishes themto their full, beautiful, potential.

Iam, indeed, quite excited about this book and I know that it will be a"keeper" for. me. I think that it will have wide appeal since many ofthe techniques can be translated into hand embroidery if desired. Artists,quilters, embroiderers, textile and fiber artists alike will find something totickle their imagination in the pages of this beautiful book. I can do nothingbut highly recommend this gorgeous publication!

I could go on describing this book - but I do believe that a picture is worth a thousand words and, hopefully, these photos, will tempt you to add this to your own 'keeper" library!

Knitting Addictions & Flat Santas

2011-12-04T11:10:00.001-08:00

A friend gently chided me that I had not posted anything since Thanksgiving. How could all of that tie possibly have streamed ahead while I was not noticing?! I have been thinking about blogging though - gathering ideas for topics that I could write about without having something to show that I have produced - since sometimes I just can't keep up when projects take longer than expected or are in the process of being done yet nothing is completed. I have a LOT of book reviews to catch up with as well as some product reviews of some new toys that I've tried. Soon - very soon.

At any rate - these are what I've been up to and I am seriously addicted. This pattern is called the Holden Shawlette and it free pattern from a gifted designer named Mindy Wilkes - she offers on Ravelry.

Made using Shaeffer heather yarns in the 'Indira Gandhi' colorway. It results in a slightly larger shawl.

These are the first two shawlettes that I made as gifts and I am now working on numbers 3 and 4! I've looked at lots of patterns both free and to purchase and this is really the nicest I've found. Perfect, I think, for a beginner lace pattern. Directions are both written and charted - and they are easy to follow and well done.

This shawlette is made with the recommended Malabrigo Sock yarn in 'Stone Chat' colorway. I have become seriously addicted to this yarn. It is luxurious, super soft, very 'drapeable' and offers the most lovely colors imaginable. It is, alas, a bit hard to find at the moment for some reason. Knitting Temptations has some available. Their packaging is unique and pretty and their customer service is second to none

The Arts In The Cards group that I belong too had a voluntary swap for December. Some members really needed a break but some of us decided to Santa up for a "Flat Santa" challenge. I had no idea what that meant until I was told of the popular children's book called Flat Stanley. My Flat Santa is on the left and he is about 8" tall Friend Karen Musgrave made the middle Santa which is totally adorable and Janice Paine Dawes made the articulated limb-ed Flat Santa on the right.

Thank-Full

2011-11-24T11:59:00.001-08:00

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States and I am full of thanks for so many things.

There is so much to be Grate-Full for. Not just the 'big' things like comfortable shelter, family, stability, employment, friends, health, heat, food - but for the myriad small things that make up my life. I'm grate-full for my IPhone that lets me be creative even when I am on the go, for the people that support me, and for those that allow me to review their wonderful books or products, for the paints, pigments, stencils stamps etc that fill me art table with inspiration, the cup of tea that warms me, the birds that flock to our feeders and fill me with joy, the soft purr of my cat in the middle of the night, the vintage fountain pens that I use with pleasure and that have been held by so many hands before, the comfort of long time friendship, the sound of my husband coming through the door after work. You get the idea - there is so very much to give thanks for that it's had to fit in onto a page - or could I even document all of things for which I am thankful?

I took this photo of a local lake this week - as usual while I was on my way to work. I think it rather sums up all that of the simple things that fill me with peace and comfort. I am able to live and work in a place that fills me with peace and joy, a place where everyone knows each other (a double edged sword at times!) and where we have no stoplights, no crushing rush-rush (one visit to the mainland last week reminded of this harsh reality of city life), very little 'keeping up with the Jone' - a place where we stop to let deer cross the road, where you know you will find a friendly hello from every shop-keeper and where 'being' is more valuable then 'having'.

My wish for everyone is that you will be able to enjoy the comfort of friends and family on this and every other day; that you will rejoice in laughter, love and the small creative, magical moments that make up your life.

Thanks to you for stopping by to say hello!

From Felt To Fabric: New techniques In Nuno Felting' by Catherine O'Leary

2011-11-12T08:00:00.000-08:00

* * * * *

Paperback: 128 pages
Publisher: Lark Crafts; 1 edition (October 4, 2011)
ISBN-13: 978-1600596674
Dimensions: 9.8 x 8.4 x 0.4 inches

When I was given the opportunity to review this book Lark I was excited. his book is right up my alley! Nuno felting has had a wide following for many years and this book takes the nuno felting process into a new direction. Catherine O'Leary has produced a beautiful volume - and introduces us to using a variety of fabrics (silks included of course!) on top of felt to create a wide range of fantastic textures, modular units and endless possibilities. I think this book will have wide appeal for all textile artists, felters, clothes mavens, and, most certainly, nuno felters! I love finding a familiar technique used in a fresh, stylish and utterly delightful way! This is really an excellent book and it should have a place in your permanent textile arts library!

Some wonderful new ways to create fabric from modular 'new' nuno felted units.

Creating a new piece of fabric & cutting out modular units.

Endless possibilites

From haute couture to utilitarian the possibilities presented in this book are myriad.

The usual method of preparing nuno felts - with a twist!

This page shows the some of the best ways to use the new nuno felting for garment construction to emphasize the draping qualities.

Happy Veteran's Day! In Memory Of My Uncles!

2011-11-11T16:00:00.001-08:00

I was closest to my mother's family. My uncles were my heros. My special uncle, Jim, was in the Army , Jack was in the Army and garnered several purple hearts and a Silver Star. Billy was in the Air Force and continued his aviation career after leaving the service. They all gave during World War Two. My grandmother carried a life long aversion t o telegrams and telephones. She was so worried about them all. They are all gone now but I al am glad for them every day - proud that they were my uncles.

Here is the oldest, Uncle Jack enjoying a little family time - you can see how young Jim and Billy still were when Uncle Jack joined the services! The other two wonderful people in this photo are my beloved grandmother and grandfather. Hero's all in my heart. I wonder if my mother was taking the photograph!

Let us all remember the sacrifices made on our behalfs.

New Eco Dyeing Experiment

2011-11-07T20:32:00.000-08:00

I couldn't resist some of the Japanese Maple Leaves on the lawn last week. I felt like I wanted to gather them all up and save them for the winter. An unpractical idea of course! I wanted some prints that actually showed the images of the leaves. I used some silk charmeuse for the bottom layer and then placed the leaves down and topped it with a layer of bleached harem cloth - something that I was pretty sure wouldn't take the leaves dye. I used hot processing/ hot immersion technique and was tickled with the results!

The big surprise was the fabulous leaf prints that showed up on the harem cloth. I had used some alum on it and was quite certain that it would not act like the more normal soda that one would normally use for cottons.

The silk charmeuse came out rather lovely although I did make a mistake and printed on the wrong side of the charmeuse. The right side is pretty but the leaves are not as distinct.

Another surprise was the lovely silk chiffon below. I had wanted some small sized leaf prints for a project and figured that, since I had had some nice results with the two swatches above, that I could so the same process. I places leaves on the chiffon and layered it with cheesecloth, bundled and wrapped it carefully and then hot processed/hot immersion-ed it. Surprise !! I got NO leaf prints but a lovely solid, vibrant yellow green. I think I had not soaked the chiffon in the mordant (alum) long enough. At least that's my best guess. I didn't get the leaf prints I had wanted but I did get a lovely piece of fabric that I know I will use for something nice!

I have to admit to finding the endless magic of the process to be invigorating, mysterious and utterly addictive!

Nature Made Going To Work A Beautiful Thing This Week!

2011-11-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

The people who know me well know that getting up in the morning is not on my "favorite things to do" list. I've had this difficulty since I was a youngster so it is unlikely to change! I do love mornings once I am up however. This week the drive to work just truly made my day and made getting up in the morning a special treat. I've been doing some photographic experimenting in how to angle the camera and still be able to obtain a decent photo through my windshield glass. In photography school we were taught that a photo can, in fact, be taken through glass, if an angle is used to minimize the reflective qualities of glass. This simple trick has enabled me to take these photos through the windshield of my car this week. Of course, being in a car traveling 45 MPH adds an extra unknown quality- but sometimes - like this week - its worth it to risk taking a photo in the hope that at least one photo will be good enough to capture the feel and quality of moment.

When I saw the trees shining in the distance (top photo) I knew that there would be a spectacular sight waiting for over the hill. I did slow down a bit because I was determined to capture this amazing sight. I'd be willing to bet that the person in the truck behind me was probably getting edgy about my slower speed. Oh My! As I turned the hill I saw this dazzling image (below). It was like the trees had been painted with a brilliant, golden light. My jaw was dragging the floor I'm sure!

My theme this week was, quite obviously, "sunrise". The photos below were all taken this week at about 8:00 Pacific Daylight Time. I am going to be soooo bummed this Sunday when we turn the clocks back. I never much like it - but the season of "dark squared" is just a part of life these days.

A fog bank was hugging into the valleys this morning and the sky was filled with color.

I think one was taken on Tuesday morning.

Another color filled way to begin the day

More fog banks. Not my favorite thing when I want to fly - or get on the ferry - but fog banks are one of my favorite things to look at.

By mid day the skies were clear and filled with glittering, colorful cloud formations.

This week, these gifts of nature really did make getting up to go to work a pleasure.

All Aglow

2011-11-04T13:13:00.001-07:00

The sunrises this week have made getting up to go to work worthwhile! Today's gift from nature was truly awe inspiring!

You should be able to double click for a larger image. I'm experimenting with mobile posting. Tell me how it is!

- Posted using BlogPress from my IPhone!

Location:San Juan Island Wa

Eco Dyeing: A Small Success Can Become Fuel For Further Experiments

2011-10-31T20:57:00.000-07:00

A piece of white vintage kimono bundled, steamed and dried. Oh! lala..those glorious colors!

You never know when a chance bit of information can your current direction on it's ear. When my friend Janet and I went to Tacoma, Washington for the Association of Pacific West Quilters she was reading this book by master eco dyer India Flint. Janet had mentioned the process to me when she returned from her silk studies class in Japan but I'm not sure how much I understood. The book made the process a bit more clear to me and I had to buy the books. If you've never read any of India Flints work - you should. She a casual, slightly humorous style that is fun to read and the dyeing information she relates is really fascinating...another whole dyeing concept. It made me wish for some local eucalyptus leaves to play with! India Flint's blog is a treat as well.


I think is India Flint's first book - it is, at least my first of her books and I love it

I do have to admit to quite a being discouraged by the results I had gotten with my experiments before today. The colors I got tended towards muck and the leaf imprints were iffy at best. I considered returning to 'comfort zone' of regular dyeing and leaf imprints with inks and paints.

Today I decided to just change it up a bit and give it one more try before I was hopelessly lost. I began with a base of newspaper upon which I laid a piece of white vintage kimono silk with a love watery looking pattern. On top of that I layered some leaves we had collected from Shaw Island (with discouraging result in two earlier experiments). I placed a layer of crisp silk chiffon on top of that and then carefully rolled the fabric layers up into a small bundle. The newspaper got deep sixed having completed it's position as a supportive player. I carefully tied the bundle with string and put in a ceramic Corning Ware pot (now relegated for dyes). I decided, just for the heck of it, to add a smidgen of Iron in the water bath. The bundled simmered on the stove top for about an hour and then the bowl was placed on top of our stove (gas) to cool down. Next I took the bundle out and blocked out as much water as I could and set the bundle on top of out stove top water supply.

Another look at the vintage kimono silk. The pattern really worked with the colors. What a surprise!

As it came time time unwrap the bundle I was honestly not expecting much success. I hat no reason to hope for anything more than more muck. Surprise ! I was thrilled with the results I got. Depth of colors grey, green, lavender, yellow, brown. Yum!

With such vivid success on the kimono silk I was really not holding out much hope for the silk chiffon. Once again though I was left some what amazed at the rich, earthy colors and the distinct outline of the leaf prints! Finally! I am so stoked by these results that I am, once again, charged to try a bevy of more blossoms and leaves. Any one have some eucalyptus they can send? I'm ready for more eco dyeing awe ! Glad that I decided to give it one more try!

Check it out ! Yahoo!

An area with a bit more saturation and a bit more blue and grey

Here are the mystery leaves we picked on Shaw Island. They were red and lovely and, obviously very rich in tannin . Does anyone know what this tree might be. I can ask a friend who goes to the community center over there more often to check for me.

Beautiful Natural Dye Results and Seasonal Earrings s

2011-10-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

Wolf Moss Lichen & fabrics: top: Silk Chiffon Bottom: Silk Charmeuse

I've been very excited and anticipating trying a bit of the dye solution I made from my cache of Wolf Moss Lichen that was gathered in Roslyn, Washington last month. I wanted to try small oddments of silk so that I might have a better idea of what to expect before I sacrificed a lovely silk scarf to this briney brew.. Thankfully, I have enough of the raw ingredients to make another batch which I will save along with the remainder if batch number one.

The top piece is silk chiffon that had been sitting in an alum mordant for longer than the piece of silk charmeuse had. It did make a difference in the depth of color - and also I did not microwave the charmeuese ( I hit the chiffon with a minute in the micro) which may also have affected the results. Both pieces of cloth were put in a glass and covered with dye solution and let set on the heater (gas) for an hour. I am thrilled with the color I got! It's a rich green cast yellow. A really a special color! I am now confident enough in the color to try it on a shibori tied scarf blank. I also want to see what the addition of another mordant will do - or not do. Some experimentation coming up.

My next planned experiment may be bracken ferns which we have in abundance - at least if I pick some before we have too many more heavy frosts.

The history of this fascinating, nearly fluorescent looking lichen is quite interesting and the following information is taken from the Washington State Department of Ethnobotany.

"....

Letharia vulpina

Wolf "Moss"

The color ranges from a brilliant yellow green to a duller yellow ochre under drier conditions. It is the easiest lichen to spot, noticible even when driving at fast speed from the highway.

Habitat: Letharia vulpina is most commonly found in dry coniferous forests. The species also occurs in Europe southward to North Africa. The species is found on twigs and stumps of most conifers. In Washington, you won't find it in coastal Douglas-fir rain forests, but in drier inland Douglas-fir stands, where it can be very abundant. It seems to be adapted to summer dryness [in fact, the alga's photosynthetic maximum is 7oC, and doesn't drop much even to 0oC, (the freezing point)]. So it is active mostly during winter precipitation. There are, however, instances of the lichen found on bark of other trees, and human made substrates like houses and fence posts. It sometimes occurs on rocks.

Use: Used as a yellow dye. For this purpose it was boiled in water, alone or with Oregon grape bark. This dye was used mainly for basket materials and fibers. As a medicine, this lichen was boiled and taken in a weak solution for internal problems and, in stronger solution, was used to wash external sores and wounds.

This lichen is... poisonous that the Achomawi in Northern California used it to make poison arrowheads.

And how did the common name come about? It deals with the European usage, which (barbarians that they were) was destructive. It was mixed with ground glass and meat and used to kill wolves. The vulpinic acid is toxic, although it is not clear if the ground glass may have been enough to do the job. Perhaps it caused stomach perforations and allowed the vulpinic acid (note the name) to be readily absorbed.

Plant and habitat description, as well as the source of the common name from Europe comes from Scott Kroken, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, who is currently...."

Another excellent description of this fascinating plant can be found on Wikipedia.

I've never been a huge Halloween fan but I am a crow fan and I though a bit of experimentation with a seasonal erring might be in order. I made several pairs of felt crows to see what size I liked the best and these are the ones I chose to make into earrings. I considered making some for sale but had to figure out a way to be able to make several pairs at once. I made several pairs individually but now see what making a sheet of the needle felted base will shorted the production time quite a bit. I made a felt sheet by needling black roving onto a stiff interfacing base and then added a glint-y little eye - voila! Seasonal earring that display my love of corvids!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend! Personally, I've been in a bit of sinking spell lately but think I'm on the upswing once a gain thank goodness! I hate it when that happens!

Don't forget, we all "fall back" on Sunday - providing us with shorter days and time to knit, felt, paint, quilt and create .. that is if you have any energy left in the evenings which I generally don't !!

Freedom From Fear - Of Color Mixing That It Is! A Class With Gail Harker

2011-10-24T12:10:00.000-07:00

Gail Harker

The San Juan County Textile Guild offers a wide range of workshops that reflect the varied interests of the members. I'm always grateful that although we live in a county composed of many islands the Guild manages to offer high quality workshops and classes from very well know artists. One of the recent offerings was a color studies class. I had wanted to take a course from Gail for quite a few years but traveling to her studios plus the cost of the courses was prohibitive for me. I was thrilled to know that she would be here to teach. Financially it was stretch for me to go to this class but thanks to my friend, Janet's, urging I applied for a scholarship from the Textile Guild and was able to attend!

Gail Harker is very well know to some people and not too well know to many. She is a graduate of the London Cities and Guilds and her mission is to encourage her students to be the best that they can be. Her list of course offerings are varied - there really is something for everyone in the list of classes and she has recently offered her first on line class (in color) since she is aware that many people cannot afford to attend classes at her studios.

Adding color swabs of primary colors to our pages. We worked with Golden fluid acrylics.

The first exercise of the two day workshop was to place swabs of color (primaries of varying hues) on three pages; one for blues, one for reds and one for yellows.

Two students to a table. This was ours when we were mixing primary yellow with cyan.

Here I worked with Pyrrole red and Cereulan Blue. Rather than waste the paint that that remained on our palettes, we made mono prints from the 'left-overs'

Some of the work from the first day of class. Two different color wheels and mixing from primaries.

I have taken some excellent color study classes and I have learned a lot from them all. This class though really was an eye-opener and manged to erase one thing I had struggled with - the fear of color mixing. Thanks to this class I no longer have an hesitation to mix color and play. Janet suggested that it would be so easy to create a scale or two in the evenings after work. A sort of no brainer that will still allow you to connect to some art - adding to your color scale pages.

A mono print from some palette 'waste'

I was so fortunate to have been able to take this workshop! I learned a lot. Connected with some very creative, friendly artists and had a very good time. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend taking any of Gail Harker's workshops. She is an excellent teacher. Although we filled many pages and learned a lot the class never felt frantic or hurried. Gail knows her stuff and is a very encouraging teacher. I had a very memorable time!

Working with complementary colors

One of my favorite exercises was creating neutrals from three primaries.

Another favorite exercise was neutralizing a complementary. Here you can the neutrals that develop between Diarylide Yellow and Permanent Violet Dark. Yum!

This exercise really amazed me. Creating neutral colors from complementary colors. I used Sap Green and Napthol Red and the range of gray and neutral browns that I managed to achieve was really an eye opener!

This was from working with 6 color primaries. The column on the left : Pyrrole Red & Diaylide Yellow; middle column: Quinacrodone Magenta & Cobalt Blue; right: Cobalt Turquoise and Hansa Light Yellow

6 color primary wheel

"Lost Crates" : Put A Little Magic In Your Life!

2011-10-15T23:02:00.000-07:00

This is top of the of the 'crate' that arrives at your door. I love the air mail stamp. Originality is a big part of the 'Lost Crates' experience and I love it !

NOTE: This is a long post about some really unique products that I received in a 'Crate' from "Lost Crates". I think you will find that many of these wonderful offerings will be things that you too would find to be a really special "gift-to-yourself" from "Lost Crates". Please enjoy this review!

I first learned about Lost Crates from my forays to the 'Chatter' forum on the Fountain Pen Network. If you love pens then Fountain Pen Network is the place to visit! I joined the organization in 2008 and I find it to be one of the best run, most friendly sites in the cyber world. I may be prejudiced, nut that's my story and I'm sticking to it !

The concept of Lost Crates, having a 'crate' filled with imaginative fun goodies shipped to you each month, intrigued me. When I began to do some more investigating I became even more curious. Part of the order process, which you can play with and change each time if you want to, is to take a fun little test that gives Lost Crates a peek at your personality - making their selections for you more targeted. The test really intrigues me and I had to write and ask the one of the founding members about the test and about the company. Below you will find the questions I posed and the responses I got from founder Danny Levi.

This is what you see when you open your 'Crate' Again, all of the personalization is very nice. The packing is shredded paper and the contents are wrapped with white string and tissue paper.

1. How did you come up with the name "Lost Crates"? We chose the name Lost Crates because of the image that it created when we thought of it - this sort of rugged box/crate that has bounced around and accumulated things from across the US and the world, and at long last found its way to your door, full of new goodies.

2. Can a subscriber take "the test" every month is they want to mix things up? Subscribers can take the test as many times as they want. We try to mix things up as is so that users don't feel as though they have to re-take the quiz many different times in order to get a better variety.

3. Am I correct to say that there was no scientific background to the test then? It was predicated more on a choice of say 'cottage' style components versus 'new modern' products? I think that's a close rendition to what you've explained. We want the "personality quiz" to strongly indicate user preferences without being too scientific and specific. In terms of scientific background to the quiz, we did a good amount of user testing with the quiz and often talk about ways to improve it, questions to change, etc.

and

In terms of the quiz - we wanted to ask fun questions that we thought related to each customer's personality without relating specifically to the items that we are selling (i.e. the questions are not specifically about notebooks, pens, etc.). We know that not all of the users like all of the questions, and as you have seen from the copy above the quiz, we wanted the answer options to be a bit polarizing.

4. How did a group of you find fellow entrepreneurs to begin this company? Was it chance meetings or more of a structured search for similar minded people? Lost Crates came out of a Chicago area incubator (Sandbox Industries), so there were many people at the company already really interested in Lost Crates, and since launch we have added a couple more to the team.

and

The idea came from a discussion about all of the types of items that we are selling and how many great products exist that aren't always easily found in this industry. We want to help expose our customers to many of these really awesome products (which we ourselves are always using), and we chose to do it as a monthly subscription because we see it as people buying themselves a gift - the contents of the package are always a surprise to the customers.

5. Do you have stock of some - or all- items? DO you supplement as you find new things? We keep a limited inventory and are constantly adding to our product selection as we find new, awesome items!

A personalized note telling you what's in your 'crate'.

I also questioned the subscription process. Currently, a subscription is offered at a cost of $38.00 per month which does include shipping. I have to agree that the product value you get is at least that much if not more. For many of us (like me), spending $38.00 a month for beautiful surprised is just a bit too much for the budget to manage. In answering my question about subscription alternatives I received the following answer. We are currently considering other subscription options in addition to our monthly, cancel-at-any-time option, but nothing is set in stone yet. Hopefully we can ramp up development of that on the website and offer some new options in the not-too-distant future. Being able to go bi-monthly would make this a possibility for me - and I would enjoy the expectation of receiving this beautifully presented 'Crate'. I think that this would make a very special gift package for a special occasion. Since you can order a month and cancel at any time I think this would be a possibility. I've read of people who change their 'test' results each month to change up their product categories. That sounds like a cool idea to me.

Lost Crates is, to me, all about their very creative marketing. I love the special, personal touches and I was really thrilled with the selection of useful, fun and unique products I received. Yes! If I could afford it I would be a regular subscriber.

Photo above: The first two notebooks that caught my eye when I opened the crate:  left a seriously cool 'DeComposition Notebook' and  right an Archie Grande

The DeComposition Note with Soy ink from Michael Rogers Bookinding. This one has already become a favorite and think I may just have to get more for gifts.The notebook is made from re-cycled paper and uses soy inks. I really like graph pages!

The 'titles' of these little gems fit every occasion !

From the very Swedish, terribly refreshing company, Archie Grand, comes one of the nicest little notebooks I've seen in a while. The buzz from their website:

Introducing the Swedish notebook corporation, Archie Grand: For Friend & Foe. Archie Grand produce high quality notebooks for shopaholics, artists, fashionistas and 25 other breeds of charlatans, scoundrels and luminaries.The notebooks are made with great care given to their quality. They have a rigid hardcover, are thread sewn and have a matte leather-like lamination. Each notebook contains 120 blank pages of high quality paper that soaks up the ink perfectly.

The US website for information and ordering is slightly different than the original (a link for the original is highlighted above). Even the websites are full of color and fun. The smooth paper in the notebook is fountain pen. The quality of a notebook's paper becomes more of a consideration when you are an inveterate fountain pen user like I am. Things like bleed-through & ink feathering become more of an issue than then if you use a ball, gel or maker pen.

The bold label of the Archie Grand

Front

These choice little "Susy Jack"magnetic clips were a real appealing addition to the Crate. A simple idea that really fills a niche. The magnets on the back are powerful enough to hold hold what you clip on.

Back

As these simple instructions show this notebook from Revolver Bound Books 'revolves' and gives you ruled pages on the black side and blank paper on the blue side. This is one fun, useful & stylish little notebook!

This is one of the most unique components in my Crate and I was instantly enchanted! I've never seen a notebook anything remotely like this one. I suppose the principle has been around for many, many years but I've never seen it used in this capacity! It made me think of those funny little "turn-it-inside-out' wallets that were popular and almost gag gifts many years ago. There's no gag about this treasure of a notebook. You have one notebook that has two colors and both blank and ruler paper. Once again the paper is good quality, thick, thoroughly pen friendly paper.

They are made by Revolver Bound Books and come in two sizes & several color combinations. Mine is a small size ( 4" X 5") with 64 pages of ruled and 64 pages of blank paper. They also offer a 5" X 7" model. I think this is one of the unique journal or notebook products that I've come across. DH asked asked why you would use it - I replied "let me count the ways! and how can not be totally impressed?!"

Next to the last item that was nestled in my Crate, may have been the smallest thing in the Crate but it is by no means the lest appreciated! These sweet, colorful Orange Beautiful letterpress gift tag assortment is delight! I was so excited to get them out of the package and feel them! What a treat! I love letterpress and I love orange - so I knew I would love the cards even before I opened the package. They are are beautifully crafted, color coordinated - just perfect! I'm going to have to go and browse more of their product line.

The final thing that I unearthed from my Crate was this pen with the art of Joshua Davis on it. It's a product distributed by the Spanish company Miquelrius. I was actually thrilled to get it opened to try it since I am on a new quest for the perfect pen to use on art journal pages. It works smoothly and writes well over many different surfaces including paint, matte medium, acrylics, watercolor etc.

I am quite impressed by Lost Crates. They have found a niche and they re filling their niche market well. I have not heard of any of the brands that were enclosed in my Crate. Their product lines are eclectic and have a decidedly International flavor. The marketing scheme of Lost Crates is equally unique and is, I believe a work in progress. The company was kind enough to send me a Crate for review but the things I have said about all of the products are completely honest and would have been the same if I had found and bought the products myself.

I am really hoping that the will add different subscription categories so that I can subscribe to get a Crate full of cool, unique, useful things to play with shopped to me with care and flair! I may just order a holiday Crate - or maybe it would make a fun gift for the holidays. One way or the other I think that the folks at Lost Crates are onto a great idea. I can almost feel the energy and dedication of the the Lost Crate team.

Single words that can explain my impression of a Crate: cool, colorful, useful, innovative, personalized. The Crates really are a well thought out offering of items that would please everyone and any one. The composition of your Crate are selected based on your responses to their fun quiz. What a great "perk-me-up" this whole idea is. Well done Lost Craters! Thanks for the happy moments!

In Memorium: Steve Jobs

2011-10-05T21:06:00.000-07:00

I was saddened to hear that Steve jobs lost his fierce battle with pancreatic cancer today. We have lost a visionary, a luminary in his field, and a person that I considered to be a good human being, although I never met him. Apple products have enriched my life and I pray that Apple will carry on and continue to make Apple the company that Steve Jobs always envisioned it would continue to be. I offer a prayer for Mr. Job's family tonight.

Silk Charmeuse dyed Caramel & Deep Gold

2011-10-03T16:49:00.000-07:00

I had a great weekend this week. I finished stitching some more shibori designs onto scarves to be dyed. I dyed this silk charmeuse scarf that is 15" X 60 " (38.1 cm X 152.4 cm) using a combination of red and yellow onion skins in approximately the same proportions. I was hoping to be able to achieve this rich caramel and deep butterscotch colors. I am very happy with it! It's destined to be a gift this week - so I hope my friend will also like it. I used both white vinegar and alum as mordants for the scarf and used approximately the same amount of red and yellow; heated them in an old crock pot set on low over night to extract the dye.

Initially, when I first unwrapped the scarf I found some areas that I had wound too vigorously so I retied some areas and over dyed some of the whiter areas. Eureka! It worked ! Now I am asking anyone that can spare their onion skins to save them for me. If you are able to and care to - I will gladly pay for postage.

I am enthralled at how rich the colors came out - almost like a burnt creme brulee and the other area looks like deep golden butterscotch. I can't wait to make some more of these. Meanwhile I have 6 scarves tied and wrapped and ready to get dyed. I can't tell you how soft this scarf is too. Yummmm

For those of you have an interest I would like to recommend an excellent site for information about natural dyeing. The site mom is Kimberely Baxter Packwood. She also has a personal site of her art work. She been a natural dyeing maven for many, many years and knows whereof she speaks!. It's : http://thenaturalsurface.ning.com. I have already found lots of useful information and friendly responses on the site.

A Long Time Coming: Charlotte's Web Shawl Variation

2011-09-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

2005 marks the year when my fascination with shawls began. I become fixated on making a Charlotte's Web shawl with Koigu KPPM Yarn from Maia Landra. I think I started the shawl and ripped it out at least 50 times before I packed it all away and decided I needed more learning time before I could attempt making this shawl again. Along the way I picked up my shawl 'bible', "Folk Shawls", by Cheryl Oberle and have been gradually working my way though the patterns. As I worked on my first lace pattern from the book , "The Heartland Shawl" I thought I had hit the same snag. I kept starting and ripping again. I thought I was doomed to never be ale to try a lace pattern!

I posted a plea for help on Ravelry and, surprise, Cheryl Oberle herself, answered my query. Such a simple thing - use markers! Ah! The Heartland shawl was a success (and I want to make another one) thanks to that one, most important tip. Earlier this summer I decided I would tackle the Charlotte's Web shawl once again - this time with success! The shawl is supposed to have long fringe all the way 'round and, quite honestly, fringe is not my favorite thing since I always seem to get it caught in car doors or something equally silly. I decided I wanted to add a slightly ruffled edge instead. Once again I turned to the pages of Ravely for help. 'Pamelatoo' came to my aid with perfect, succinct instruction about how to add a ruffled edge.

I am so happy with this new shawl. I think I will use it a lot - and I am happy that I changed the edge too. This is lightweight 'summery' shawl - smaller than the big winter snugglie shawls that I love so well. I can see using this a lot during the winter at work - when a sweater is too much but I still need just a bit of extra warmth. Hooray ! I conquered my lace phobia and love t now thanks to the helpful people on Ravelry. On my needles now? The Stora Dimun shawl from, where else, "Folk Shawls" !

So Much To Tell - How Fast Time Flies

2011-09-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful bit of vacation time. I spent the bulk it home home - having fun trying some new ideas and 'just being'. For a part of my time off my gal pals and I went on out second annual retreat to Roslyn, Washington. Home to the late, great television show "Northern Exposure". I came home and returned to the work - exhausted every day by the time I got home. Hopefully I'll be able to share some of our adventures and photos with you this weekend.

I fell in love with both this old building and the clock that graces it's face. Since I am always bemoaning how fast time flies the quote by Jim Bishop just seemed to fit well. More soon. Happy weekend! Enjoy creating something wonderful!

Vacation Images

2011-09-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

This photo was taken at a really unique interactive street art installation near the Tacoma Art Museum. It really was fun to see it morph each day as the words were changed around.

My favorite place in Tacoma to go to for a sweet treat is "Hello Cupcake". My fried Maria and I discovered it a few years ago and then Janet and I happily revisited it to enjoy one of their fabulous cupcakes. They sell only cupcakes (tea, coffee and beverages) - an they are the best!

Glinter Beads from Elephant Eye Beads

2011-09-10T18:22:00.000-07:00

I noticed these beads in some online article from Beading Daily. Since they were advertised as a silver substitute I had to have a look. Silver has gotten so expensive! The bead designs were lovely and the cost was modest. I decided I had to give a few of the beads a try.

The Beading Daily article highlighted a photograph of a strand of multi-colored Glinter beads and, when I couldn't find them on the web site I wrote to Elephant Eye and asked about. They were kind enough to tell me that the beads shown in the article had been an experiment made by soaking the beads in Liver of Sulphur. I had some on hand and so I tried it out. Unfortunately, I left them out too long to get the variety of gentle colors I wanted but I did achieve a nice patina effect. The strand on the top began life looking like the brushed Glinter beads below. Leaving them in the Liver of Sulphur too long gave them a nice aged brass color. Yes, I am going to try again and keep a closer eye on the time !

I think these beds are indeed a great substitute for the more expensive silver beads. I can see them made as earring or jewelry of course - but I also envision them on a spectacular quilt or quilted item. They are worth having a look at. I am not affiliated with Glinter or Elephant Eye - I'm just an always curious consumer of pretty things!

Elephant Eye Beads describes Glinter Silver Substitute as:
....."

Glinter™-Silver Substitute is an almost care-free metal product that can be made into beads, clasps, earrings, headpins, charms, chain, and wire - as well as other items normally made with sterling silver. It doesn't tarnish like silver and it's not a plate so there is nothing to rub off. Glinter™ is a solid metal made of zinc and copper with a little silver added. When worn for a long time, as with all metals, it may possibly turn slightly dull. Glinter™ can be brightened by cleaning it with a polishing cloth or giving it a quick trip through an ultrasonic cleaner. It's a wonderful product as it wears so well and looks so good for an extremely long time.

Glinter™ should be wearable by the majority of the population as it is lead, nickel and cadmium SAFE. It cannot be labeled nickel free but it has four times LESS nickel than most surgical steel jewelry, the most commonly used ear piercing material in the U.S. At the time of this writing no U.S. standard exists for nickel content in jewelry components.

Glinter™ is also considered lead SAFE as it exceeds the U.S. standard for lead content in jewelry.

Glinter™ is intended for use by adult consumers. Glinter™ is not intended for children under the age of 12....."

Michelle Ward's Crusade #54: Mind Games

2011-09-06T08:00:00.000-07:00

I feel as though time is is going in hyper drive. The month's spin by before I know it, but one thing that makes the turning of the month easier is that I look forward to Michelle Ward's monthly "Crusade" projects. Without fail I have a good time working through the challenge and, also without fail, I learn something. I'm a little late this month but I had fun with the concept of of choosing a word and then developing a color to match the mood of the word.

I used a lot of interference mixtures on this page which, unfortunately, you really can't see at all. The interference colors just added a bit of zing - or a dash of spring - to the colors. I had fun coming up with names and even more fun matching colors to the words! Thanks Michelle for another round of play time.

Color Hue Dye

2011-09-05T12:00:00.000-07:00

This is a silk scarf 14" X 72" pleated, 'marbeled' (yes, those are marbles), presoaked & wrapped

My friend Janet gave me a wonderful gift of Color Hue dyes a while ago and, after seeing a scarf that she made I was totally inspired to get them out and play. First, I ordered a small assortment of silk scarves from Dharma in order to see how the dyes will react on a variety of silk surfaces. Some of you may remember that I used to make and sell hand dyed fabric - but the space needed (and the warmer temperatures needed) were more than I wanted to juggle. These dyes are ridiculously easy to use - the simple directions suggest a 1:3 ratio using plain water as the diluent. There is no prep or mordants for silk and wool, no heat setting required and the resultant colors are brilliant and rich. They aren't available in a slew of colors but color mixing is easy enough if you know the basics.What more cold a person ask of dye?

This is the same bundle with the dye added. I added a piece of silk organza to catch any excess dye. For this scarf I used green, turquoise and goldenrod.

Next on my audition list is a silk charmeuse scarf that I'm pleating and folding now. The combination of sewing and dying is simply magic for me. I love not knowing what the piece will look like until it is unwrapped. I could become seriously addicted to making these. That might be a good thing since I am auditioning ways to be able to supplement my "Bowery bag lady" Social Security stipend when the time comes.

The result. I am so totally jazzed about these dyes!

detail

Sidewalk Fascination

2011-09-04T12:03:00.000-07:00

'Guardian'

All of the photos can be double clicked for a larger image

It's been awhile since I posted and it is not for lack of doing fun things this time - it's more a matter of there were so many fun things that I just don't know where to begin. I haven't even posted about our wonderful County Fair yet. Last week my friend Janet and I went to Tacoma Washington for the Association of Pacific West Quilters show. This is a new venue for the show which has previously been a bi-annual show that was held in the Seattle Convention Center. This was the first year its been held in Tacoma. The hotel, a Marriott Courtyard, is, quite literally , about 50 feet away from the show which a real blessing for me because my back issues make me need lie down rest breaks now and again.


As we walked back to the hotel one evening Janet noticed the light on these beautiful grasses. I had to hop across the street to take some photos. Brilliant light!

Don't these look Art Deco? I love the lines - and the sky was screamin' blue!

The show itself was excellent - not too many vendors but I suspect that they were all wondering how the change of venue would affect attendance and also I think the economy is making vendors be perhaps a bit more selective of their travels. This post will not be about the show, but rather about my love for the newly refurbished down town Tacoma area. We had time to go the the Chihuly glass museum, the Tacoma art museum and a few other points of interest. As a kid who grew up in New York City I have never been much of a city lover but I was utterly captivated by the beauty that was underfoot in Tacoma. Janet was very patient and stopped as I simply had to take this photo or another of the amazingly beautiful iron works that surrounded the trees. The photo above is our shadows and it makes me think of the Guardians I have been fortunate enough to have in my life. Those few friends who are always there for me - and go along with my whims and help me to organize my life. Thank you Janet!

Inside of the former Union Station which is now home to the Federal Courts. That's a Chihuly chandelier hanging under to the occulus.

Another from inside Union Station - and more magical Chihiuly glass work in the windows. Notice the w yin-yang symbol in the center?

A beautiful man hole cover

This is were my attention was really focused on the sidewalk. So many beautiful iron worked pieced! The next two photos are of some the iron works that were around the trees. Similar but different. the first one really was two very different colors - the left side was very rusted while the left side was still fairly intact. I have lots more images - but I want to savor them and use them over time.

Similar but different

This little element caught my eye. So much beauty in such everyday objects!

Another beautiful piece of patterned iron. There is some of this in Seattle in the downtown area and I've wondered if the same person or crew worked at both places. It's so beautiful!

We had a really good time and I got so excited about the incredible every day beauty that can become so thoroughly ignored when you see it everyday. It's natural to do that I guess. I would love to be able to return to New York City again and revisit my old haunts with more mature eyes and my camera. That would be a real treat. Oh! and while I'm at it I want to return to Ireland, Italy and Britain to do the same thing. Lottery dreaming again!

Next post will be more textile oriented I promise - the actual, wonderful quilt show! SO much inspiration! I swear our textile artists just get better and better ! The word is that there will now be annual APWQ shows - but Janet and I have decided to continue on our bi-annual visits.

Reduction Printing Experiment

2011-08-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

Cloth Paper Scissors * Issue 38 * September-October 2011 * page 40

I decided that I was really going to enjoy this time off - something seems to have shifted in me recently. Maybe having my position eliminated and having to start another job threw a circuit in my head but I am determined to use my time off and to enjoy every minute of it that I can.

This recent article by Lisa Thorpe in Cloth Paper Scissors piqued my interest. I had recently taken my Speedall carving tools out of hibernation so it seemed like a good time to try this technique. Of course I decided to try it on the spur of the moment - after I failed at nap time because I was battling 'monkey mind'. I pulled 4 colors ( yellow, bright lime green, medium green and magenta) of heavy body acrylic out of the drawer, grabbed a piece of Dick Blick easy-cut printing block and had at it. The idea is to plan a a piece, cutting different areas away as you go from lightest color (I used yellow) to darkest color (I used magenta).

When I added the darkest, and the last, color and elements, I also varied the amount magenta I used. Below you can three cards that I printed from lightest to darkest by varying the amount of the darkest color. I had a lot of fun trying this out and now that I have done one I'll another and plan it a bit better. It does take a "do it first" trial to get an idea of how it all works together. I've never been that great at seeing all of the negative and positive results in my head - so a little trial and error is always appropriate for me.

Top to Bottom: Light, Medium, Dark

Lightest

Medium

Darkest


Upper Right Shows the block print as would now be used.

I think that I would consider cutting four different blocks and using registration marks next time - just to see if I could make the technique 'repeatable'. If I thought of doing this than I'm quite sure that it's been done by many people before. I'll just have to hunt up the results.

Weekend Earring Experiments

2011-08-23T12:08:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to make some earrings for a long time and I took being on vacation as an opportunity to make some last weekend. I already had everything on hand - most of it bought long ago when the temptation to make earrings first interested me.

Top left to right:

amethyst, freshwater seed pearls and silver

Orangeaid: orange glass 'hearts' that I've had for years, orange saucer beads,black Swarovski crystals

Square pearls (silver) 'cheese', black Swarovski crystals and silver mice

Bottom left to right:

round pearls (copper), moonstone chips and gold spacer beads

lamp work beads that friend Janet gave to me years ago, moonstone chips, gold spacer beads

briolettes (not sure what they are), silver cats and assorted seed bead spacers

I had a lot of fun making these earrings and expect I will make more. Since I'm looking towards the future when my Social Security will be poverty level (but hey! I won't have to be at work!) I am thinking up ways that I can supplement my income. I'll want to sell some of the things I make but I don't know what would sell.

My question to you is: do you think I would be able to sell any of these earrings? Would you pay $25.00 for them? No? How much? I don't buy earrings for myself so I have no idea of what is and isn't a fair price - nor do I have any idea what people may or may not find attractive. Your comments would really help guide the direction I take. Thanks in advance !

Round Robin Book Almost Ready To Set Free.

2011-08-20T18:04:00.000-07:00

This top photograph is simple a piece of black fabric that must have seen some sun and gotten 'burned'. The effect of the 'burn' is enchanting though as the selvedge line mirrored the opposite and the effect makes the bluish area look like a beautiful piece of woven silk- which is more obvious if you double click on the photo.

Actually I think double clicking all of the photos will give you a better idea of what this is all about .

I used my chop in wax on the front cover.

In other news. Pen Stuart has started a little a journal round robin. So, by August 29th nine of us will send our books on to another person who will add pages. We we all chose a theme - loosely interpretable- and my choice was typography (letters, calligraphy). Some of the other fun themes are: Along The Line, Beauty of The Earth, Music: Lose Control, Quotes: More Than Words, Night...you get the idea.

I chose to go small with my journal and chose a small size water color journal from Moleskine. I like the size and think it will suit my them.

The right side of the front cover.

The flashy back side (left side) of the front cover. Gold and cloth dots worked well for a bit of bling.

As you open the book this is what you'll see. That's my card on the right in a little pocket

Next page is the sign in page.

My first page - fancy first letter


Next double page a collage of letter forms.

I may consider adding one more page before I send this little book off into the world. I'll be gone this week so I I may send it sooner rather than later though. I'll be so pleased to see what treasures it will hold when I next have in my hands !

Tools Of The Trade. What Are Your favorites ?

2011-08-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

As most of you may be aware I am an art supply and tool junkie. I wish there was a job would allow me to test drive all sorts of mixed media and art supplies. When I was told that my job had been eliminated my first thought was "how will I get art supplies"? Nothing about food, bills or jaunts - just a fear that I would be unable to enjoy new art tools!

In honor of my addiction I thought it might be fun to share some of favorite art supplies and tools with you. These are the tools that I reach for almost daily. Although I love quite a few products from the same place all of these tools described in this post were purchased by me - none of them were supplied to me.

I'd love it if you would shares you secret tool fetishes, likes and dislikes with me !

Zinsser 98005 1-Inch Seam Roller $2.99 on Amazon. This handy tool got one star on Amazon but I love it! It works like a dream to roll things flat and assure adherence. I had to buy a second one to have in my "walk-about" journal set. Plus it has a lime green handle - so what's not to give it 5 stars?!!

Sakura 3D Crystal Lacquer. I've never been much of a glossy kind of gal but I had to give gloss a try. In the process I tried a lot of different brands and I have to admit to being partial to the Sakura brand. It really adds a great dimension and can be used as a gloss coat/sealer or, as I generally use it for, a highlight. It holds it shape well - doesn't run as some can and even a heavy coat will dry to a clear lovely gloss over night


Stabilo CarbOthello Pastel pencils. This is a really poor image of a really great product. I generally am not fond of pastels - other than Pan Pastels- but become increasingly curious about them when I saw them used by Lisa Fulmer. I'm glad I plunged ahead and bought them - they're water soluble pastel pencils that are super smooth, don't generate much dust and can really add a great dimension to your work. They work well when used 'over' another image.

Lyra Rembrandt PolyColor oil base pencils - Luscious color that's oh! so smooth!

Pan Pastels. This is one of those products that I hemmed and hawed about getting for quite awhile. I've never been a huge fan of pastels but these changed my mind. They're far more creamy than regular pastels and they blend beautifully. The new pastel tools, sponges, applicators and blenders really make blending easy!

Perfect Paper Adhesive by US ArtQuest. When I first tried this adhesive I thought it was just a tad arrogant to call it 'perfect', but is, exactly that, perfect! I think I have tried almost every brand of adhesive around the art block and nothing has pleased me as much as this . I love that it's matte (they also offer gloss) and, for some reason, it just doesn't seem as fussy and icky to use. Love this stuff!

Ah! Daniel Smith watercolors. Once again I have tried many different brands of watercolors and these just float my boat. They are super pigment laden so you use very little and, while they are most certainly not the cheapest brand, the color goes a very long way. It's taken me awhile to decide on a favored medium - which is why I encourage experimentation - but I have a definite preference for watercolor now. I am not a water colorist but I can still appreciate the superior qualities of pigment laden, professional quality watercolors. I also like some of the colors that Holbein and ShinHan have to offer. Holbein makes a line of antique Irodori colors that are beautiful and ShinHans brand of gouache is excellent

Water brush. Made by a variety of companies. This has become one of my all time favorite tools. My friend, Sarah, sent me my first two water brushes and I have to admit that I had not a clue what it was or how to use it . Once my brain connected the dots there was no going back. I love these brushes! The nylon - or whatever it is- fibers allow you to work with one color, then wipe the brush tip off and go right to another color. They are available in a variety of nib sizes from small to wash and also a variety of pen sizes. Small, compact ones to travel with (and have a cover) and 'regular' sizes that are consistently scattered around on my table. Thanks for the head's up on this on Sarah!


Derwent InkTense watercolor pencils have been a favorite for quite few years now. They have rich, luscious that can be applied as a light wash (adding color from a pencil to a water brush) or deep, dense color (adding the color to the paper and then blending with a watercolor brush).

Another gem from US Artquest. This is their Excel board which comes in a variety of finishes( metallic) and colors. My favorite is 'manuscript' which features an embossed manuscript writing on the surface. I love to lay tissue paper prints on this surface because the embossing adds another layer of texture to the work. I cut the sizes for what I want - I love using it for ATC's

Many of you know that I am addicted to ATC's. Thus, I have tried many, many, different ATC materials from cutting Bristol paper to size to ordering at least a dozen other brands to try. This ATC canvas, another gem from US Artquest, is, in my opinion, far and away the best of the best ATC material. Substantial, smooth and delightful. I cant use anything else any more. A bit more expensive to be sure - but it's darn near perfect. Comes in black as well as white. I wish they would offer larger packages of it with a price break. I like to use high quality materials for my ATC's because I do try to make them miniature art works.

Color Dusters by Judikins are another tool that I use on an almost daily basis. They are the perfect blending tool. It took a bit of time to figure out the tool I need to do what I wanted to do - which was blend on edges - but I'm sure glad I found these. Available in three sizes. I need some more of them as a matter of fact !

Gesso! Ah! What a wonderful medium it is! Until I discovered Venetian Plaster (below) I always reached for white gesso. There are many brands of gesso and it seems to me that many come close in quality. I've used Golden brand for a long time but have recently switched to Daniel Smith's brand which I buy by the pint. Many people seem to be unaware that gesso comes in quite a few colors. I only seem to use white - but it's nice to know that other color options are available. I use this not only to seal but also to add texture and to build up specific areas. Another "love it!" item.

The newest addition to my favorites list is Venetian Plaster. When I first went to look for it I thought it was an entity onto itself. What I was looking for, in fact, was, the tinting base. Although this is a more affordable, polymer alternative to real Venetian Plaster it stills provides the sheen and polishing capabilities that the "real stuff" affords. It's cool to the touch like real marble - which really surprised me the first time I felt it. It has a much finer appearance than gesso and polishes to a light sheen. Yep, I love this stuff and reach for as much as I still reach for gesso. I use it it nearly interchangeably with gesso - but I love the fineness and polish I can get with this plaster. It's available in your local hardware store - just remember you want the tint base. The kind I have is from Modern Masters but there are other brands - one day I want to splurge and try the 'real' Venetian plaster made from marble dust.

The Truth ABout Myself

2011-08-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

My friend Maria sent me this beautiful quote from Macrina Wiederkehr.

Oh God

Help me to believe

The truth about myself

No matter how

beautiful it is.

For some reason this quote spoke loudly and clearly to me and I thought perhaps it might speak to you as well. How many times have people complimented us (me,you) and, rather than accepting the sincere praise, have we side stepped the compliment thinking that the person was "just being nice"? I've done this all my life and it hasn't helped my self esteem issues one little bit. This is a thought pattern that I simply have to break... at least try to break!

Happy mid week to all !

Opposites - ATC's for August

2011-08-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Starting my cards for Arts In The Cards this month was a truly grounding exercise for me. The burble at work threw me off center for a bit and it was art that got me back on track - but not without a few false starts! The theme this month was 'opposites' and my cards explore the opposites of smooth and not smooth, light and dark, glossy and matte. I used one of my hand carved stamps on cotton with ink, the word 'explore' (because that's what I like to do), and a bit 'o gloss.

I was, finally happy with my cards. I say finally because I had made half of another set that I couldn't connect to and wasn't happy with. Despite the time wasted I decided to toss them and start all over again. The first set (see the photo below) was simply too fussy and packed for my liking. They made me uncomfortable to look at. I'm glad I tossed them - but thought you'd like see how I got from there to here - is it here to there?

These were added to the proverbial 'round' file

Cherub's Blessing

2011-08-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Karen Musgrave I discovered a beautiful poem that inspired this photograph.

The poem was written by Stephanie Kaza and it goes like this :

We live by the sun, We feel by the moon, We move by the stars,