My Studio

This is where I spend a lot of my time. In my studio.

In my studio I can dream, watch movies, listen to radio plays, listen to music, paint, draw, glue, cut wood, cut paper, work with clay, sew, laugh, enjoy life and create!

I work on scale dollhouses and related projects, use watercolours and acrylic paints, Zentangle and draw Zentangle Inspired Art and prepare classes for students of Zentangle. I make cards of thanks, wishes, sympathy and congratulations. I work on making altered books and sewing paper, material and anything else that will fit under a needle.

And what does all this look like? Well, I would need to do some heavy cleaning to make it into a magazine, but then, do those clean organized studios every get used? I mean really used? My studio is my comfort zone. It is my place to make a mess and leave it until the project is finished. Granted I do sweep about 3-4 times a day when really making a mess on the floor and I empty my trash 1-2 times a week depending on the projects.

I usually have a small space that I do the actual work. And I am finding that this is typical of most crafters (except Gina K, whom I adore!).

So here is my studio.

Enter. Back of door is filled with supplies. All paint bottles are on the wall. I try to use my vertical space since the room is only 10x12.

  

I use the Billy Bookshelves from IKEA (I love that store and it's a 4 hr drive to the nearest one) I have sections for scrapbooking and cards, miniatures, Zentangle, painting, and miscellaneous. I had to add a small table to hold overflow and this gives me an easier area to work on things not miniature related (as you will see in the next picture.

This is my 2x8ft long work bench. It is about 3ft up from the floor so I can stand if needed. This is where I work on my dollhouse miniature related projects. I have 2 ott lights and a small work area. I have storage bins below and all the way across the bottom of this bench and hide them with small curtains. It gets filled up so fast with tools as I am working. I always start with a clean work area before beginning a new project and put things away when the project is finished. So there is some organization in my life. I also enjoy looking into the back yard while working. Sure hope it rains soon. Those are my favorite days to work - rainy days!

I have a large cabinet to hold varies projects in boxes, glues and spray cans of paint. My Toy Story dolls stand guard over the studio. Not sure why there is a clock in here except to remind me when it's time to fix supper for my husband. I hang my unfinished artwork as a reminder of what needs to be worked on.

Moving around the room is my trusty computer, printer and die cut area. I store my special papers, 12x12 papers and die cut supplies in the Billy System flat file. More vertical storage and cabinets hang above the desk to hold printer supplies and who knows what else. 

And finally the closet. We installed an adjustable shelving unit in the closet to hold miniature supplies, landscaping materials, fabrics, trimmings, dollhouse furniture and so much more. I can pull the curtains and everything looks lovely again.

 So that ends the tour. I hope you enjoyed seeing where I create. Come back soon.

 If you want to see other great studios please visit Seth's website  The Altered Page:Studio Table Revealed

Terri

New Zentangles to share

Happy Tuesday Evening!
I am a member of a Yahoo Zentangle inspired art group and each month we have swaps. There is a beginner swap for those newbies who are just getting their feet wet. These are usually done on ATC's (Artists Trading Cards). Last month I participated in a psychedelic swap...that was fun! I used some alcohol inks to come up with some really cool designs and tangled all over them.

This month I participated in 2 swaps. One is done in the style of the hollibaugh (a tangle that looks like pick-up-sticks or logs criss-crossed over each other. The other is a paint blob swap. We also send a nice little gift for the hostess of the swap, usually in the same style, as a thank you for hosting.

I only did 1 paint blob swap and am working on my hostess thank you gift so it will be posted later.

These are my 3 hollibaugh style cards. They are each 4"x6" as they were to be done post card size.

I filled the negative space with different designs as opposed to filling in with black.

I filled the negative space with a curvy line all going the same direction.

I left the negative space white here as I wanted to show off the tangles

I cut a piece of overhead transparency slightly larger than 4 x 6, wrapped 3 sides with washi tape, cut a half circle in the open end and placed a postcard tangle inside each one. This should protect the artwork during mailing. The paint blob was placed inside an envelope I cut from decorative scrapbook card-stock.

Now to work on my piece of mail art and send it off to Austrailia! Can't wait to see what I get in return from these swaps and mail art.

Til next time, go out and create something!

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

A quick note for the day

I'm not really sure when this was taken or exactly where. I do know it is taken at sunset on the inter-coastal waterway south of Corpus Christi, Texas. It was taken by my husband on their way back to the cabin. Very nice indeed!

This morning both my husband and son are out there fishing. They are both good fishermen and enjoy their time spent together doing something they love to do.

I'm off to teach another class at the Corpus Christi Art Center. At last count I had 7 students! My little class is growing! I will be traveling to Rhode Island in October to become a Certified Zentangle Teacher (CZT). I am excited about that trip. Not sure if Ray Baby will be able to go with me as we planned due to a scheduled job where he works.

I'm back from teaching. You didn't miss me did you! I had 9 students today. They all did a great job. The Art Center said that was an excellent size for a class. I must be doing something right. Still look forward becoming a CZT.

The boys are back from fishing. No keepers this trip. Have a nice evening.

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

My Shabby Chic Cottage

I am a member of NAME (National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts) and proud of it. NAME is an international organization that promotes sharing and teaching all about scale miniatures.

In 2013, NAME held a Houseparty in the Gazette, which translates to a convention in a magazine with all the trimmings. There were workshops, swaps, round tables, favors, luncheons, projects and more. One of the projects was the centerpiece. You could make your own from the instructions in the magazine or you could purchase one in kit form. My local club, Scaling Down in Corpus Christi decided to purchase kits in 1/2" scale that could be used in conjunction with our 1/2" scale trailer park project we did several years ago if so desired. Everyone would do their own thing.

My thing is shabby chic. I love the look and feel of the feminine side of things. I guess that is part in being a girl and not being able to decorate my real home in this style. In my little world of miniatures I can do this and so I did.

The front of the little shabby chic cottage.

The Swan is filled with orange flowers to add some colour.

I placed my structure on an 11" x 9" piece of wood from Hobby Lobby. I covered it with some decorator moss found in the garden area of Joann's. I used scrapbook paper to cut the shingles. I used fancy cut scissors and layered each section, then slightly flipped them in several places to create smiling shingles. The siding was made from corrugated cardboard. I used a bone folder and smoothed the raised edges in one direction. When placed on the wall it looks like clapboard or tongue in groove siding.

The porch floor is wood that I scored with a sharp edge and stained to look like wooden planks. I did this to the interior floor however I decided to cover it with a piece of an old bedspread.

There isn't a lot of room on the interior.

The interior chair and stool were made in a class taught by Shirley Blair. all other interior furnishings were made by me or received in swaps over the years. The interior wall paper is scrapbook paper from my stash.

The exterior furnishings were made by me with a couple of swap items thrown in. The stepping stones were cut from paper, stacked, shaped and coloured by me. The little birdhouse was from a roundtable kit I purchased. The attic has a couple of things in it and will be filled with more as I find items I think will work.

Flourishes are used as outdoor art above the bench.

I had some nice flourishes in my stash that I used as outdoor art on the side wall above the bench. White flowers and a little greenery compliment the white bench.

Trellis wall and hanging birdhouse.

I created the wall trellis from a picture I found in Plow and Hearth Magazine. I placed the trellis picture on a small piece of floral foam, over layed it with wax paper, and added white fabric covered floral wire shaped like the swirls on the picture. All the wire pieces were then glued together. Once dried, I removed the miniature trellis and glued it to the wall which I covered with greenery and added flowers I cut from a cane of clay.Not sure what I will do with my completed piece. Probably give it away or sell it if I can find a buyer. I hope you like it.

Til next time, I hope you are bitten by the creative bug and create something to enjoy.

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

Rewards of Life

Life offers us little rewards and we should take them as they come.

My mom had a light stroke in late April and has been recovering slowly. She has had several doctors appointments as a result. Last week she had 3 appointments, Monday, Tuesday and Friday. The end result is everything is fine. Keep taking her meds, do your therapy and go on with your life.

The appointments are usually scheduled for 10:30 or 11:45 or 2:30, right in the middle of the day. This means I need to leave my house 30-45 minutes before her appointment to drive to her house, be sure she is ready and then drive to the doctors office so we can sit and wait for an hour before they call her name and place her in a room. Then its another 15 or more minutes til the doctor actually sees her. Most of the time spent with the doctor is about 10 minutes if we are lucky. Then we pay and are on our way home.

My mom, Willie, Christmas 2013

My mom knows all this interrupts my day and things I want and need to do. While we were driving to an appointment she apologized for having to disrupt my schedule. I just looked at her and said "At least I still have you here to take to the doctor. That beats not having you here."

Yup! It's the little things in life that are the biggest rewards.

I'm off to Rockport, Texas for a couple of days to spend some time with 8 of my good miniature buddettes at the Retreat House. Just us ladies talking and working on projects and catching up while we can. None of us are getting any younger, however, we all grab life by the tail and go along for the ride. I hope you will, too.

Love to all of you, dear friends.

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

Last Day of January 2014

Where has the month gone? I have been so busy I didn't see it!

People I know whose name begins with the letter J are Jerri, Jeri, John, Jack, Jeanine, J.R., Jerry, Joyce, James, Joann, Jan, Jane, Janet, Jeremy, Javene, Janice, Joy, Jill, Jim, Jimmy, Jean, Joan, Joe, Joanna, Josh, Judy, Judith, Joey and Jo.

Today is beautiful! The sun is shining, the temp is nice. This afternoon I will be watching my Great niece and nephew while their mom sleeps before she goes to work tonight. We should be able to play outside and swing and slide and get some great fresh air. I wonder which princess I shall be today?

Last time we played I was Princess Sleeping Beauty (PSB) and Trinity was Princess Cinderella (PC). PC' informed me her job was to do all the chores around the castle, all the gardening, take care of the animals, and so forth. PSB's job was to sleep. That sounds simple enough to me. I can get used to this being a princess.

Enter the little brother, Shane, known in finer circles as Prince Charming. And what is Prince Charming's job? (I had to ask) Well, his job is to kiss Sleeping Beauty and wake her up! So much for taking a little nap.

Almost is never good enough. Here are my almost's for the week.
* I almost put a scoop of ground coffee beans into my cup of coffee. I was supposed to add cream.
* I almost sat on the toilet before lifting the seat. I hate it when that happens. I said almost to quit laughing.
*I almost had an accident when another driver decided to pull out in front of me? He must have been blind in one eye. I am such a great driver that I avoided running into him.
* I almost ruined a whole pan of spaghetti sauce by adding ground cinnamon instead of chili powder. I was able to fix it with chili powder and a little hot sauce. Ray and Dane ate it and said it was okay, maybe a little on the sweet side. After 2 meals Ray said to toss it and even Dane wouldn't take the leftovers so I guess this was not an almost but a did.

I have been busy this week with preparations to host the Society of American Miniaturists in Corpus Christi. Emails have gone back and forth between several committee members and myself. Labels to be placed on tote bags and projects bags have been printed and delivered, copies of hand outs have been printed and folded and name tags created.

I especially like the name tags and am probably putting to much effort into them but the SAM members deserve it! I cut (with the help of a great die cutter) about 90 flower pot shapes, colored each one with several shades of ink to look like terra cotta colored pots, folded the tops down for more dimension, stamped the base with flower designs and am coloring the flowers to add some color. I still need to add the little butterflies for some more dimension. They are really cute. Emily will just need to add the names across the top and put them in the badge holder.

More work to do like make cards for each area of the workshop, make a couple of large welcome signs to be placed on easels, a couple for parking, send information for a press release, work on my welcome notes and information sheet for my fabulous committee. I also need to gather what I want to display for 4 days and dirty up my potting shed project with some dirt on the floor and workbench.

Our display will be open to the public from Feb 19-22 at the Art Center of Corpus Christi. Our workshop will be held Saturday, Feb 22. The public is invited to wander thru and see what we do although they cannot take the workshop. So I hope you will stop by and introduce the kids to this great hobby. I'm really excited about it, can you tell?

Better close and let your eyes have a rest from reading. I hope each of you had a joyous January.

Still trying to get those thoughts out of my head and onto paper.
Terri

Tinyteri Tuesday

I like that title. It has such a personal ring to it. LOL (that is laugh out loud in case you didn't already know)

My husband sent me a picture on my phone a while back. It was of a large fish he caught. I simply responded with the letters WTF. Most people understand this to be "What The F***" as did my husband. He sent me another text asking me did I know what I just sent to him and did I mean to send it? I said yes. He asked if I know what it meant. I replied "Yes, WTF stands for "Well That's Fantastic!". So now you know it is OK to use these letters.

Saturday I met with my favoritist local miniature club, Scaling Down in Corpus Christi. We went over details and schedules for our workshop. Then we practiced teaching the project and making some minor corrections to the instructions. Afterward we went to the Blue Frog and ate lunch. I did not eat blue frog since I don't care too much for blue food, except blueberries. I had the quiche and soup instead. It was yellow, green and liquidy. And the best part of that part of my day was I got to be with my best-est mini buddettes and talk and laugh. I love all the ladies in this group!

Anyway, Sunday, My sister and I drove, well I drove and she rode, to San Antonio to attend a workshop. It was fast and furious, the workshop, not the drive. Honie kept up. I sort of forgot to tell her that Tami moved rather quickly thru the class and would talk about the next step while we were working on the previous step. After thinking about it a little bit, I have come to the conclusion her class is a bit like learning shorthand.

Remember shorthand class? Do they still teach shorthand in school? Anyway, I digress. While learning shorthand the teacher would talk at a rapid rate of like 140 words per minute and you would be frantically trying to remember the marks for those sounds and feel completely lost at times. Then the teacher would repeat the same paragraph at 60 words per minute and you would do much better. My sister takes shorthand and is about one of the fastest typists I know so why the struggle? It was a new art form for her. And this art form is not about perfection. The lines don't have to be straight and things don't have to match up and every one's will be a little different. I will have to work with her so she can complete this project but we will go at a much slower pace.

Then I'll take her to another class...

So Monday I got up early and made coffee. I must have still be asleep because after I filled my cup with coffee and tried to add creamer, I reached for the coffee can and almost scooped a spoonful of raw coffee into my cup. WHAT!?! Wake up, Terri!

I did better after coffee and reading email. I went to my doctor to see what is going on with the pointer finger on my right hand. They took x-rays and felt all up and down my hand and arm. That part felt good and I told him he could do that all day and I wouldn't mind. He just laughed. ha ha I was being serious... He couldn't find anything physically wrong so he gave me some cortisone to take for a week and a wrist brace to wear. Typing with a wrist brace takes some getting used to. I slept with it last night and did OK. Haven't tried to draw yet.

So today I am off to watercolor class and then to the Art Center to arrange the final setup for our workshop in February.

Gotta run and watercolour something. Have a super day and create something. (If you bake a pie save me a slice)

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

My Creative Life 2014: The Challenge

Check it out! This is my 2nd year and I love it.
Terri
My Creative Life 2014: The Challenge: Welcome to My Creative Life 2014!

Almost Isn't Good Enough

Can you believe it is ALMOST 2014! That is just wrong. The old question that pops up every year is where did the time go?

My time was fairly constructive this year. Some of the things that happened in our family:

1.  I began scrapbooking, (thank you Mary Helen!) well making cards and mixed media art pieces is more like it. I did start a scrapbook of sorts and gave it to Dane. It was a Steampunk Halloween Album filled with pictures from his party. Working on a Christmas album and will be creating a Valentines album in January. Getting my sister into this art form, too.

2.  With the above mentioned hobby, I now own a die cutting machine and an embossing machine.

3.  I have been playing with watercolors more by using watercolor crayons, pencils, and pens. Watercolors still kicks my behind however my teacher said it kicks everybody's behind. At least I am in great company.

4.  Baby sitting.  I assist my mom with her great grandchildren (my great niece and nephew) Trinity and Shane about 3 -4 times a month while their mom works. Trinity loves to visit my home and heads straight for the studio so we can work. The next budding artist in the family. Shane prefers music and will one day be a great musician. He has a favorite song "Oh Glorious Day" by Casting Crowns. He can almost sing it and for being two  months shy of 2, he does pretty good!

5.  Our youngest, Dane, moved out in February and in June took his dog, Buddy, to live with him. I miss Buddy, well, I miss Dane, too. I do not miss the dog hair everywhere. We still had Arrow until he died in August. We buried him next to his lifelong girlfriend, Namee. Arrow was 16 years old and had some health problems. He is missed and thought of often. I still expect to see him waiting for me to drop something on the floor so he can run over and eat it before I can pick it up. No more pets for us.

6.  I am still working on my Zentangles. I took the plunge and will become certified next October. I will be traveling to Rhode Island! The CC Art Center wants me to start teaching now so I will put something together and see how it goes. I am proud to say that I have introduced this art form to several friends who are now tangling and doing a mighty fine job. My sister does pretty good, too.

7.  Reorganized my studio to make it more user friendly. Put a whole wall of shelves in (I love IKEA!) and can actually find things for a change. This inspired Mary Helen to redo her studio, too. Can't wait to see how it turns out. And Marty is almost ready to update her space.

8.  I let my husband purchase a new truck. I am so nice to him. This is something we have discussed and one day he found the deal so he jumped on it. Now we are looking at travel trailers. Planning for his retirement in 3 years and hope to hit the road and see America!

9.  We had family home for Thanksgiving. Trevor and Angela stayed with us for almost 2 weeks. My mother in law was here for about 4 days so that was a nice visit. We had a big traditional meal, everyone brought just 1 dish and it was perfect. Not tons of leftovers to sit around until they were tossed in the trash.

10.  Christmas day was rather quiet this year. My sister and husband, my niece and husband and 2 kids, Dane, my mom, Ray and me. Ray grilled everyone's steak to perfection and mom's chicken was tender and juicy. Kids were able to play outside and get some fresh air. The only thing I didn't do was take pictures. Oh well...the memory lives on. My nephew, his wife and son are visiting right now. They are expecting a baby boy in March. Keep them in your prayers please.

That's about all my brain can think of now. This sounds more like the Christmas letter so I guess that is what it is.

I hope you all had a great year and have a wonderful 2014.

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry.

The Day After

Here it is...the day after Christmas and I'm playing on my new Surface keyboard trying to figure out Windows 8. Now I thought I would see if I can blog on it. This is just a test of my skills at this point.

Looks like it worked. I still like using my desktop computer for this.

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

Here She Comes Again...

I've been amiss in posting for the past 2 months. I guess daily life just gets in my way. That is just an excuse anyone can use so I'm just going to tell you the real truth.

I just haven't posted.

That's it. I have been lazy in this aspect of my life. Now I am going to post something for you.

I have been creating Zentangle Isspired Art (ZIA) for over a year. I found this artform by accident and liked it.

I have joined a group online that focuses on this art form.We have swaps based on colors, themes, artists, heritage, organic and just about anything you can think of.

These 3 photos are for the Organic ATC Swap.

ATC is short for Artist Trading Card. Most ATC cards are 2.5" x 3.5". ATC are never sold, they are always traded. On the back is the name of the artwork, name of swap, date, name of artist and name of group swapping.

If you are interested in learning to tangle and create ZIA, there are sites you can visit to learn pen strokes. The best site is Tangle Patterns

I refer to this site when my brain freezes on me or I would like to do something different and work out of my comfort zone.

There are classes you can take if you are lucky enough to have a teacher near you. Zentangle  will show the teachers listed for your country and state.

I hope to attend a training session next year and become a CZT (Certified Zentangle Teacher) to I can teach with real knowledge in the South Texas area. (donations to my worthy cause are now being accepted!) LOL

I stopped by a garage sale Friday while out running errands and found 4 nice frames. I think I have a weakness for picture frames.

One of the frames really spoke to me so I had to rush home and create a tangle to place inside. Here are my results. The final picture is a little blurry but you get the idea.

A picture frame picked up at a garage sale for 50 cents

ZIA drawn on Bristol Paper

Add frame and ZIA and this is what you get. It looks better in real life so you will have to visit my home to see it.

That's all for now folks. I am going to visit with my mom and sister.

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

Monday Monday

Sunday afternoon it thundered but no rain.

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak

It finally rained today.

And I saw a snail on the front steps at my sisters home.

There are two rose-breasted grosbeaks eating at my bird feeders. They are so pretty.


Friday I took Dane to have the nerves in his leg tested. While he was getting little shocks, I sat in the waiting room and had fun. There must have been 25 of these magazines in the waiting room. Nothing else to read just Neurology Now Magazine. This guy on the front just screamed that he needed some attention so I got my trusty micron pen and started on him. This si what I ended up with.

I decided to just leave it in the chair when we left. Somebody probably found it and thought it was really on his head.

Moral of this story: Always be prepared and take a Micron pen with you where ever you go. You never know when somebody may need a laugh.

I signed up to make tote bag favors for a NAME Houseparty. NAME is short for National Association of Miniature Enthusiasts.

The committee need 500 to fill the conference attendees tote bags and asked for volunteers to make 10 sets each. So I made 10 sets.

They set the pages to print. They gave the dimensions for the book covers.Each one of the 3 books is different inside, too. I didn't make a set to keep but I still have the template.

10 sets of 3 books all packaged in little baggies.

So here it is 3 days before it is due in the committee's hands and I am just getting started.

But I made them. All 10 sets. It took me most of the afternoon to cut and put them all together but I did it. I mailed them first thing this morning.

I hope they like them.


Sunday I was cleaning my studio. I have a 10 drawer cart on wheels where I store misc tools, supplies, papers, etc. It wobbles.
I wandered into the living room and asked my husband if he thought he could help secure the cart.
We took it outside and he placed a piece of laminate board on the back side. It is 99% better now!

Lastly, I want to introduce you to Arrow.
He is 15 years old and getting slow. His joint bother him when he gets up. He can't see very well due to cateracts and his hearing is becoming selective.

He is still active and can bark extremely loud. He will be heard!

Some mornings he just doesn't want to get out of bed though. He sleeps a lot during the day but that's ok. He's earned it.

He also has Addison's disease and takes pills each morning and gets a shot once a month to keep him hydrated.

Then Sunday and Monday he peed on my floor.

 

DOGS! We'll keep him and keep him comfortable as long as possible. He just better quit peeing on my floors.

Off to create something in my cleaned up studio.
Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

What's In Your Wallet?

I just like to say that...

It's been a busy week for me. We had some friends and family here on Sunday. Ray put some chicken on the grill and it was good! Had all the fixin's to go along with it - beans, potato salad, cool sliced vegetables, and my sister made a birthday cake for me! It was delicious! I love homemade cakes! No store bought cakes! This was the first birthday cake I have had in several years. Thank you Honie!

Monday afternoon our friends from San Antonio came down. Ray and Glenn went fishing down the intercoastal and spent the night at the cabin. Glenn caught a 7 pound drum and a 6 pound trout. They caught several 2 and 3 pound trout so their fishing trip was a success.

The Saturday before Ray caught a 5.something pound trout and I do have a picture.

Ray Baby and the 5.something pound trout

 Pam and I went junking Monday afternoon. I found a head vase to add to my collection and some used dental tools to use in when working with clay. Tuesday morning I took Dane to his pain management consultation - the shot comes next Monday. Then Pam and I visited Hobby Lobby, Michael's and Joann's. Around 5:30 the guys came home and had to clean up from their fishing trip. Then Pam and Glenn had to drive home.

This is SAM

Wednesday was awful for me. My sinus decided to act up and I felt horrible. I got up at 4:15 am, fixed some coffee and drove my sister and her husband to the airport to catch a 6:00am flight. Got them there safely, came home and laid around for a while. I worked on the Passport most of the day when I was up to it. The Passport is the twice a year publication for the Society of American Miniaturists. I am the editor. I finally finished it today. Now to make the corrections from my proof readers.

Before, it was just stained.

Oh yeah. Last Friday I did some painting again. I had Ray Baby add a little more support to our old bookcase (his dad made it years and years ago). Then I sprayed it white, moved it into the guest room
and filled it with books.

After painting it white

I did complete another tangle in my newest journal. What do you think?

Well, that's about all I can think of for now. I'm about ready to hit the pillow cause tomorrow is another day in which to excel!

Have a great week and go create something!

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

Starting Off With A Laugh

Today I want to start off with giving you a good laugh. I am a firm believer that laughter heals the soul and we should find something to laugh at every day, even if we have to laugh at ourselves.

Sometimes the biggest he-men are can be the biggest babies. This video brought tears to my eyes. Just watch it and you will see why. Be sure to have a tissue handy.




And if you like cartoons, you must check out Eric, the circle. Each cartoon is created by different people. I've even created a few. Here is the link to follow. You can join and create your Eric cartoon to share with the world. http://www.ericthecircle.com

Now for an update in my world.

Sunday was quite productive for both my husband and myself. Ray changed the light fixtures from my old studio to my new studio. The lighting is so much brighter now and I can see what I am working on again. Ray worked in the yard and I did miscellaneous things around the house. Can't remember what they were cause that was a whole 24 hours ago.

Today I can tell you about. After doing my weekly trip to the grocers and a couple of misc stops, I wandered thru Barnes and Noble for about 30 minutes. And I didn't buy anything. Just thumbed thru some books and magazines to get inspiration. Then I got busy at home.

The round bird feeder.

The rectangular bird feeder

The cup and saucer bird feeder

I took down the 2 bird feeders, cleaned them up and grabbed my newest favoritist toy - a can of spray paint. I sprayed both feeders lightly, then filled them with bird seed and rehung them. Since my paint was handy, I grabbed the 2 tins cans sitting on the kitchen counter, cut them into petal shapes and sprayed them white.

I cut these into petal shapes, spread them open and sprayed them.

I took the painted cans into my studio and painted the leaves a metallic purple and metallic pink with a little green around the stem. Next I got out my trusty soldering gun and soldered a nail into the middle of the cans and now I have 2 bird feeders made from cans that look like flowers.

The finished tin can flowers. I used the end of a paint brush to get the black dots in the centers.

Still need to put them on some sort of post but I will do that later. I have to get my watercolor supplies together since we are meeting in the morning. Update on that tomorrow.

Now I'm off to fix fresh trout for supper. Yum Yum!

Til next time, go create something
Terri

Gardening Finds

I spent the weekend in San Antonio at my first ever scrap book weekend. What an enjoyable time I had. Those scrap book fanatics carry more equipment with them than a miniaturist! I leaned so much and got to play with all the die cut machines. I even made envelopes for my ATC's (Artist Trading Cards). Everyone was helpful and generous with their time, tools and supplies. So now I have another project since I have about way too many pictures to go through and organize. Then again, I am retired now...LOL!

This morning I stopped by the nursery and picked up a couple of plants. I bought 6 little Dusty Millers (Ray always said he liked these), a sweet potato vine ( I love the bright green color) and a red geranium (one of my favorites). When I got home I was going to plant these and then work on a scrapbook page or two and the Passport for SAM (Society of American Miniaturists).

But that's not what happened. I started planting 2 of the dusty millers. I noticed the hollywood junipers on the right side of the house needed to be trimmed. So I went to the garage to get the saw and decided to find a container for the geranium. I found one and potted that plant. I returned to the front of the house, planted 2 more dusty millers and pulled some grass that had grown over into my flower beds. I planted the rest of the plants and the sweet potato vine. I started pulling more weeds and grass and thinning out the airplane plants and snapping their runners off. Then I started on the left side of the house. I trimmed the hollywood junipers then started cleaning those flower beds.

One thing always leads to another and I am not too organized at times My legs are tired tonight. I finally got everything cleaned up and watered and went inside. It's a good thing, too, because a cold front came in and I was wearing shorts.
 

I did find a couple of things in my flower beds that I want to share with you.

When I was trimming the juniper I discovered an old abandoned wasp nest. I thought it was kind of neat and I might have to use it in an arrangement.

When I was pulling weeds I pulled something long out and tossed it on the ground thinking it was a lizard. I looked closer and noticed it was just the tail. So I kept this to show Ray Baby when he got home. Around lunch time, Dane and Aaron stopped by on their way back to work so I showed them my finds. After they both looked at the tail, it was decided, are you ready for this, it is the tail end of a snake!

oooooo snake farm, sure sounds nasty, snake farm, probably is...(Ray Wylie Hubbard)

So there you have it. My beautiful flowers are all planted, a wast is flying around searching for his nest and some slimy snake is slithering through life without his tail.

I was able to start working on the Passport but I'll save that for another day.

What's hiding in your garden?

Terri

Project Complete and Another Started

I finished my frame painting project. I still have a few more frames to paint but they are in storage and I'm not quite ready to hang them. I did learn something though.

I had purchased the wrong paint and had to use a primer, let it dry for what seemed like hours, then paint the frame again and let it dry for more hours. I was in my studio and looking in the supply closet when I found a can of the paint I needed. And it was white satin. I grabbed the can and ran to the garage where my frames were waiting for me to spray them.

The paint I found is Krylon Fusion for Plastic. Also works on wood, metal, wicker, and more. I sprayed all my frames and they were dry within 15 minutes of being sprayed.

I love this paint!

Now as promised, here is a picture of my wall with the newly painted frames. I really need to rearrange the pictures so if anyone is good at this, come on over!

My Wall of French Fashion Plates

I had 1 picture that was also trimmed in material. When I painted over it the fuzzy still showed. So I took a measurement of the width and visited my favorite store, Hobby Lobby, when I purchased some lovely white lace trim. I glued the trim around the frame and it looks great. (I did have a minor incident and broke the glass in the upper right-hand corner.

Lace trim up close and personal

The whole picture with broken glass. This picture is in the middle of the wall.

I'm happy with the results.

And my current project?

I belong to several on-line groups, one being a Zentangle Inspired Art Yahoo Group. Each month we have swaps and challenges. One of the April Swaps for ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) is a Georgia O'Keef picture. We print a picture then add our tangles to it. I am making 4 of these to swap with other artists. Here are the first 2 I have completed.

2 1/2" x 3 1/2" ATC #1 on Georgia O'Keef painting

ATC Swap #2 on Georgia O'Keef painting

 I have 2 more to complete and I have an idea to make a couple more just in case anyone wants to swap one on one with me.

I'm off to look through pictures so my scrapbooking weekend with my friend Mary Helen. THis will be a first for me since I've not done much scrapbooking...yet.

Have a great week and go create something!

Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry

Busy project

I love to collect things. One of the things I collect are French fashion plates from the 1800's called La Mode Illustre. These are ladies dressed in the fashion of the day. I have quite a collection of these that people had framed and hung as artwork. And that is what I do with them. Duh!

I do not like the frames since they are brown and ick and ugly. I wanted to unify my collection so I am spray painting the frames. I thought about black but that seemed so drastic for these pictures so I settled on bright white satin.

I purchased the spray paint only to get home and realize I needed primer. So another trip to Lowe's to get primer. 3 cans!

If you haven't done this yourself please realize that this is a several day process since there are other obligations in my life like cooking, laundry, grocery, errands, etc.



First I had to select the pictures I wanted to paint. (I did this in small groups so I wouldn't overwhelm myself with a big project). When I purchase these they are usually in pairs so I painted like frames together. I also have several duplicates of the prints but they are in different frames and different sizes.
 


Next I took a whole piece of cardstock and placed it in the center of the picture to protect the glass. Then I taped this down with Frogtape or Painters tape. I very carefully used my exacto knife and trimmed the paint to expose the wood that was to be painted.


 Once I primed each frame, I had to let it dry for about an hour. Since it was a little humid (lol, a little humid in Corpus Christi, that's a laugh) I waited about 2 hours.
Then I sprayed each frame with my satin white spray paint. Again I let them dry for a while.



While the paint is drying I returned to my studio and started preparing another group of pictures. For this group I sprayed them with primer and let them sit overnight. This really worked great. I got up and sprayed the paint early the next morning and they are drying now.

 
 Once back in the studio I carefully remove the cardstock and painted tape. If there is any paint on the glass it is easily scrapped off with a razor blade.

And finally this is what the finished product looks like. I think it is a great improvement.

I still have 1 more group of small pictures to work on and I'll post the wall of fashion once I have them all painted and rehung.

Til then, I hope y'all had a nice Easter and remember why we celebrate it.  Now go create something!


Terri
Waiting for the glue to dry