Cathy~O'riginals

new project in the works

2011-02-26T10:25:00.000-08:00

I belong to a challenge group called Fast Friday Fabric Challenge, which I think I've mentioned before. Each month on the last Friday a challenge is issued and we have until the following Saturday to complete a piece, although this isn't written in stone and you can submit yours late if you have to.

This month's guest hostess is Janice Paine Dawes and the challenge she presented us with is to use curvilinear perspective to create an art quilt by your favorite technique.

As often happens when the challenges are posted I am pretty much clueless on this method...lol But I just look at things online until it begins to sink in. Occasionally it never does, but I just do what feels right.

This time is one of the "I'm not sure" challenges, but I have come up with an idea which I may or may not use.

Basically I took a photo of some M&M's and then manipulated it in my photo editing program to come up with what I am hoping to recreate and use for my quilt.

Here is the original photo and the 2 manipulated ones:

While I'm not sure if this fits the challenge theme, I really like both of the new versions of M&M's but have pretty much decided to attempt the last one. I say attempt because I'm not sure if I can do it! I'm envisioning it much bigger than my usual 8x10" or even 16x20" size, in fact I'm thinking at least 32x40" if not bigger. Wouldn't that make a fabulous piece of wall art?

So wish me luck and I'll let you know how it turns out, although I certainly don't expect it to be anywhere close to being done by next Saturday!

Portraits

2011-01-12T09:58:00.000-08:00

I have been doing more work with portraits lately. Honing my skills at them since this is the direction that my heart and camera have decided to take me on this stage of my art growth. Working towards making portraiture my career.
I still take photos of other things, like flowers, landscapes and animals, especially since right now I don't have many willing human models. But practice is practice right?
So here are just a few shots of the many that I have taken over the past few months, so this post is pretty heavy on the photos :-)
First up...my son...

Next ....my grandson...

The rest are pretty self explanatory :-D

And finally,,the front and back of the postcard I have been working on to use when I am ready to begin marketing my fledgling business...what do you think?

Calla Lily

2010-06-07T12:10:00.000-07:00

Digitally altered photo of a lily, made the background less obtrusive and added the HDR effect. Now for sale at REDBUBBLE

Yellow Iris I

2010-05-23T08:22:00.001-07:00

Continuing with my Iris series, this one is also available for sale on REDBUBBLE

One Iris Plus Three

2010-05-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

While we're talking about the lovely Iris...here is another from today, in the style of Warhol obviously, but I think in way that is more calming, that could just be me though.
Anyhow, this is also for sale on Redbubble

Iris !

2010-05-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

Originally a photo of an iris with a busy background,,edited using picnik, removed background, turned it into a pencil sketch and then posterized it. Finally added borders and a frame.
Now available for sale on REDBUBBLE

Hidden Iris

2010-05-20T11:17:00.000-07:00

I recently started doing the weekly challenges for the "2 Things Challenge" blog. This is my second entry and so far I am really enjoying it. This week's theme is hidden/brilliant, and this is my entry.

Took this shot this morning of one brilliant yellow Iris hidden away in the tall grass of a neighbor's yard, and thought it fit the challenge perfectly. Hope you enjoy it.

"Autumn"

2010-05-19T12:57:00.001-07:00

Another of my original photographs that has been digitally altered..
the quote is by William Cullen Bryant who was an American, journalist, romantic poet, and long-time editor of the New York Evening Post.
Available in various sizes on Redbubble

Keys in the Cogs of Life

2010-05-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

I joined Illustration Friday quite some time ago and each week, look at the theme in my inbox and think,,"I should do something for this one!". Somehow I never have though, maybe because of "newbie nerves" LOL
So this week's theme arrived and it was EQUIPMENT
I had just finished this piece a couple of weeks ago and thought maybe I would use it. Equipment also means machinery so it seems to fit.
A little note about this piece, it is an abstract meant to loosely represent MY life, won't go into full details since I don't need to write a book here, but the 4 keys stand for my 3 children and grandson, who keep my cogs running!
I hope this fits in with the theme and that everyone enjoys it.
It is an 11x16 colored pencil piece.

The Butterfly

2010-05-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

Digitally altered art, original photo, which is shown above was of a bouquet of flowers I received for Mother’s Day.

Quote is by Ponce Denis Écouchard Lebrun, a French lyric poet, who died in 1807.

"The Butterfly" is available for sale in a variety of sizes (from laminated prints to posters) on my REDBUBBLE site

May Showcase AND a featured artist!

2010-05-15T17:51:00.001-07:00

I highly recommend that everyone head over to Brenda Thour's Blog to read the great feature she did on Denise M. Deslauriers and her beautiful scratchboard art.
While you're there, make sure to follow her link to WWAO's online May Showcase, where you will find more beautiful work by the very talented members of our group, Worldwide Women Artists Online.

Bird Tracks

2010-05-13T06:20:00.000-07:00

My entry for the 2 things challenge...theme is initial/impression...so here are MY initials on a photo of impressions in the snow left by a bird that I found on the front porch this past winter. Added the "ghostly" bird and through the magic of photo editing did some cross processing to give it a little something extra :-)

Tribute to Mother Nature

2010-05-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

This should actually be at the bottom of the digital art posts since it is the 1st one I did..on mother's day in fact...

Meeting for Breakfast

2010-05-11T07:43:00.001-07:00

Today's adventure in picnik has resulted in "Meeting for Breakfast" shown here plain and matted with a border (also available for sale on redbubble!) Originally this was one of my smaller watercolor paintings (and a pretty bad one at that as you can see..lol) and had no birds,,just sky, water and that small tuft of land..SO much better now!

Peace Evokes Love

2010-05-10T14:54:00.001-07:00

Before the magic of digital editing using picnik, this started out as a simple photo of some dried grasses!
Available on redbubble in various sizes from greeting/post cards to 21.3" x 16.4" posters (and other sizes.materials as well)

Consider the Birds...

2010-05-09T17:41:00.001-07:00

So, now that I have a *new* computer, I can use this program that I heard about a long time ago but couldn't use with the dinosaur I have been using. Right now I am using the free version, but will be upgrading very soon. If the free is so great, I can only begin to imagine what can be done using the premium! And all for a mere $25 a year :-D
Anyhow, this is just one of the 6 or so works I created the past 2 days and my favorite so far.
Available for sale on redbubble . If you like it but are thinking probably too much money,,guess what? You can get a 16x21" POSTER for only $22.80!
Just saying....:-D

2 new colored pencil pieces

2010-04-28T08:30:00.000-07:00

The first one is titled "Zebriatic Geomotions" the yellow crescent on the right hand side has a bit of flash reflection on it, it is actually the same color as the other one.

This one is titled "Keys in the Cogs of Life"

They are both 11x16" and both done with Prismacolor Pencils, as you can see I have become a bit obsessed with doing geometric designs..toying with the idea af recreating the top one in fabric..

Latest work is complete!

2010-02-22T18:40:00.000-08:00

"Making a Quilt"

Inside area of this wall hanging is 13×21”, I haven’t decided if it will be quilted or framed yet or if the border that’s on it will be staying or changed.
The curtains are hand sewn, as is the padded cornice, tie backs are fuzzy artificial flowers, bunny slippers were hand sewn from batting, felt and emb. floss, chair is padded, items on bookshelf include pieces of shells and a button. The round piece of wall art is also a button, and the chest of drawers has small wooden beads as handles. Most of the fabrics are cotton.

new fabric work!

2010-02-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed I haven't done anything with fabric in a very long time. Actually haven't really done anything in a long time, but I decided that had to change!
So the first photo is what I decided to do to break the long dry spell.
This is loosely based on me in the process of creating a piece on the design wall..

And here is what I did yesterday...took me roughly 4 hours just to choose fabrics for this! And then what fun all the cutting and fusing, but so worth it as finished work began to emerge :-D
Still quite a bit to do on it, but I'm very happy with how it is coming out.
Oh and I must say that I can't take credit for the IDEA...a fellow member of the fastfridayfabric challenge group did something similar last year for one of the challenges and I knew that someday I wanted to do a version of my own.

here is what I added today, took a long time to make the bunny slippers!
Hoping to show more on this later today...

"Sole Mates"

2009-11-22T13:24:00.000-08:00

She's a high class gal, he's just a working guy, but when you are Sole Mates stuff like that doesn't matter....for a shoe themed challenge on redbubble. (ok so it's a little corny I couldn't resist..lol) Wouldn't this make a great card though? If you think so too, click on the redbubble slideshow to the right which will take you to my site where you can buy a card with this photo on it!

a couple of new ACEOs

2009-11-14T11:52:00.001-08:00

Felt like working small for awhile so made 2 new cards. They were both made on watercolor paper using colored pencils. The bottom one is *Sunset*...obviously huh? LOL
And the top one is *Sage*. I plan on doing a series of herb ones, specifically parsley, rosemary and thyme to go with sage :-)

Rosebud

2009-11-13T06:14:00.000-08:00

Rosebud is a 11x16 acrylic painting on stretched canvas and to date is my most ambitious painting. I usually do abstracts but wanted to try something more realistic this time. I enjoyed the process so much I will definitely be trying it again soon.
I apologize for the quality of the photo, even taken outside it just won't come out great, maybe because of the black background?

some new photography work

2009-10-23T09:18:00.000-07:00

Some new photography pieces

2009-09-21T07:23:00.000-07:00

I have been having fun trying different things with this new found love. Below is a photo of a Spanish Onion, for this I only made a background and bottom so the color of the onion would stand out on the white. And took a LOT of shots, lol
Next up, a piece of rose quartz, this one was a lot of trial and error, used a dvd case draped in black velvet for the background, put a small mirror under the quartz and hid the edges of it in folds of the velvet, used a few different settings with and without flash, tried shining light on it with a flashlight and diffusing my flash with tissue, after MANY shots I got 2 that I really liked, this was one and it was featured on RedBubble in the *Alphabet Soup* group!

One thing I love doing is playing with food LOL, the photo below is made from the 2 halves of a papaya, add some digital altering and voila, a flowery looking picture.
Another shot for Alphabet Soup, this one for the letter *N* I found this nest a few years ago and it sits on top of one of my bookshelves, so I took it and put it in one of the small pines in front of my porch, and put the little craft mushroom bird I have in it. And then shot away..only took 5 to get one I liked, but all I can say is thank God for digital cameras. I can imagine the cost of developing all these shots with most being no good if I was using FILM!

experiments with photography

2009-08-24T18:22:00.000-07:00

Have been trying different things lately with the camera, discovering capabilities that I never knew it had! Guess it does pay to read manuals sometimes lol
anyhow here are a few recent photos.

Dandelion Haiku

2009-08-21T10:14:00.000-07:00

The 4th in my series, this features my original Haiku and digital art.
If you like this, you can buy a poster in 1 of 2 sizes in my Zazzle store by clicking HERE!

new work in progress

2009-08-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

here is the WIP of what I worked on throughout the day, still has a little to do on it and I will be the first to admit that it isn't coming out exactly the way I pictured it,,more of a caricature I guess...soooo any guesses on who it is? LOL

Slater Park pictures

2009-08-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

Spent some time at the park today, took LOTS of photos and sharing a few here.
This was originally at the bottom with the other geese photos, but an accidental backspace means it is now first..one of my faves of the geese photos, love the water caught in it as he flew up out of the lake..

Myles on the Looff Carousel which was built in 1895 and carved by Charles Looff. The next few shots are also of the carousel.

Next couple of shots are swans, as you can tell..lol this swan kept putting its entire head and neck under the water and after many botched shots I finally got 2 really good one of when it took its head out, you can see the water beads an its head and neck too.

A few shots of plain old birds that I lured with some bread and again, after many blurry shots, got some I really like, only sharing 3 here though...first one is going to be named "LOOK OUT!" Looks like that bird is swooping down to attack the other one..lol

One of the 3 great goose in action shots I was lucky enough to get today :-)
This one was watching me watching it from about a foot away and seems to be saying "What you lookin' at?"
one of my favorites of the day, I stood patiently, camera all set to go while this guy groomed himself, I knew there would be a final shake out at the end and I caught it! Thought for sure it was going to be blurry but I got lucky :-)

Hulk

2009-08-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here is the 3rd in my Haiku series. "Hulk" which is the common name of this aster. It is still unfinished, needs quilting, binding, and the Haiku put on. Not sure how I am going to do that yet, may put them on a banner, or embroider them, haven't decided. Right now I just added them using the text feature :-)
I found a silk plant somebody was tossing so I brought it home and pulled all the leaves off from the plastic veins. I knew I would use them for something and this was perfect. Didn't have enough for a whole flower, only a half, but didn't like it so went with 1/4. They are attached with invisible thread and I purposely left wrinkles and bumps for texture.
The white part of the flower is 2 layers of batting, which I attached with white embroidery floss. I went over the edges to give it more of a flower appearance instead of a circle. On top of that is a small arc of 2 layers of batting which I painted yellow, again attaching with yellow embroidery floss and doing the same extended stitching. Throughout the top white and yellow areas I scattered some yellow french knots and the bottom white has echo quilting.
I put a detail photo of the center too. I wanted it too look 3D like the leaves and to have a puffy center, which I got :-)
I did this all by hand in one day, just got too hectic around here for me to finish it in time.
Oh, because I wanted to use the leaves as flower petal, I did a search for green petaled flowers which is how I found this flower. It was the only one that fit my vision.
This is 18"wide x 20" long

what do flowers, and batiks have in common?

2009-07-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

They are all represented on a few of my new products at Zazzle which I am sharing with you here. I have been creating lots of new items from reproductions of my original work, so if you get a chance you should go check out my newly stocked store shelves HERE

about to begin the 3rd in Haiku series

2009-07-24T15:35:00.000-07:00

The whole inspiration for these came about from a group I belong to and which I have mentioned in the past, The Fast Friday Fabric Challenge group. The 4th Friday of every month a new challenge is issued, with different guidelines. This year we were encouraged to work in series, and are using different themes or techniques and design concepts. Last month it was to create a piece emphasizing texture and/or pattern in a triad color scheme.
This month's theme is colors in nature and design concept is radial symmetry. We have until Saturday of the same week to complete our piece, though that isn't cast in stone cause a lot of us are late sometimes, depends on life that month :-)
The work these women submit every month is truly amazing!
I look forward to each new challenge and love how it has helped me grow and try lots of different things I would never have attempted otherwise. Going into our 4th year now and I can't imagine ever getting bored with this group.
So I have gathered my materials and written my Haiku and am hoping to start this tonight.
Check back in a day or two to see the finished piece!

fragmented...a self portrait

2009-07-21T21:24:00.001-07:00

For years I have used Irfanview without realizing there were hidden things on it. My son showed me today so I started playing around and came up with this, which began with a photo of my face. I often feel this way, like I am trying to do so much at once that I spin out of control and become...fragmented..

Illustrated Haiku #2

2009-07-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the Haiku for this for several days but couldn't get it to feel right. This morning I went outside to commune with Nature for a bit and while sitting there watching the bees on the clover the words just flowed right into my mind. So I rushed in and began this. 7 hours later here is the completed piece!
First I painted the background using acrylics on a 9x12" gallery wrapped (staples in the back) canvas,,which means the painting goes all along the sides too, so no frame is needed, most of the sides are blue, but the flower stems also continue on the bottom side.
Next I picked flowers for my field and sewed them to the canvas with buttons for
the centers. This took quite some time, finding the right flowers and buttons, deciding on placement and the sewing.
Then I painted on the leaves and stems.
Then very lightly in pencil I wrote the Haiku and then traced it twice with a
very fine Sharpie. Even though I made sure all the words were right, I was convinced I had
spelled one wrong and wrecked the whole thing..LOL
Next I made the bee and ladybug from felt and sewed them on.
Last signed and dated it.
I am VERY happy with this piece!
as usual clicking on photo will give you a larger view and I appreciate all comments!
If you like this, you can now have it made into a mouse pad, tshirt, or card by visiting my store at Zazzle, all it takes is a click HERE!

Illustrated Haiku

2009-06-28T09:05:00.000-07:00

This is the first in a series I am calling *Illustrated Haiku*, the verse is my original and first attempt at doing a Haiku..don't know if it is actually one and don't know if it's any good, but I liked it so went with it..lol
It is all hand pieced and made mostly of felt, the middle "painted desert" mountains are cotton. not really sure they give the effect I was hoping for though. The spines on the cactus are made with white embroidery floss, the rain is a metallic thread that has white, light blue and pinkish colors in it and I scattered some silvery bugle beads around too.
I purposely did the Haiku in wavy lines and primitive embroidered letters .
This is 8x10 and isn't quilted in the traditional sense of the word, it IS sewn to a piece of card stock and some outline stitching was done through the felt and card stock. It is going to be framed so I didn't want it to thick. The metal brackets you see on the edges now holds a piece of clear glass in front of this, I kept it off for picture purposes. The frame will allow it to stand or be hung.

illustrated Haiku

2009-06-25T11:01:00.000-07:00

Doing some editing on my daughter's 2nd manuscript today, but took an hour long break, (had to watch Days..lol) During that time I also wrote my first Haiku and drew out a picture to go with it. Later today I will finish working on this piece, which will use felt, fabric, maybe rhinestones, or maybe glittery paint. not sure yet, and of course embroidery floss since scene will include the Haiku on it.
Will post a photo when done.

Discrimination

2009-06-24T12:40:00.001-07:00

This is an 8x10 felt applique piece done entirely by hand showing a bunch of green and red olives in a bowl, outside the bowl looking in is an olive with a different shape and coloration. I think the words say it all...Discrimination affects olive us... ok I couldn't resist the play on words...lol

Anyhow, this is being sold in a frame, the picture here doesn't have the glass on front so I wouldn't get the glare from the flash, but it will look exactly the same with the glass. Frame can either stand alone or hang on wall.
You can find this for sale in my etsy shop

new painting

2009-06-23T13:01:00.001-07:00

The sun peeked out for a minute a short time ago and brought my muse with it. Here is the result, an 8x10 acrylic on stretched canvas. I did this using a new (to me) technique and know I will doing more this way. The colors are brighter than they appear here, at least on my screen they look paler than in life. As usual clicking on picture will enlarge it.

This is untitled, always the hardest part for me, so I would love to see suggestions for titles in the comments.

Mandala blog giveaway!!

2009-06-22T07:13:00.000-07:00

Win a beautiful Mandala From Sue on her
Sacred Circle blog
All you need to do is post a comment at a chance to win 1 of 5, hard choice too, they are all so wonderful!

new Hugzz

2009-06-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

Patty is all dressed up and ready for a fun night out...prom maybe?? I am going to change her mouth to a pink, the red blends in too much.

one more before bed

2009-06-13T23:56:00.001-07:00

Meet Tanya Hugzz........

another Hugzz

2009-06-13T15:44:00.001-07:00

While doing R&D I decided to give this style a try and like it the best so far. I believe that all Hugzz will now be made using the pin as the body, so they can have arms and legs as well as a head. Of course I reserve the right to change my mind!

And now, here is Myrtle.
Myrtle is Lily's cousin and best friend. They especially love to go shopping, they both like the same kind of hat as you can see, but Myrtle is a bit fonder of the bling as you'll notice by her Mother of Pearl bracelets and hat pin!

Lily Hugzz

2009-06-13T11:37:00.001-07:00

Today's hugzz brought to you by me and my grandson Myles..

Hugzz

2009-06-12T19:10:00.000-07:00

I have been seeing these cute little doll things all over the web and it gave me an idea. Somewhere along the line I picked up hundreds of 2" buttons , the kind you get at political rallies , with the pins on the back?
Well I saved them knowing that I would use them for something someday. You know how that goes..lol
Well today was the day, let me introduce Hugzz
This one is Cindy Lou Hugzz..the name just came when I was making her pigtails.
Her head is the 2" button pin, and she is pinned to a shirt in this picture, I can see them on pocket books, jackets, totes, backpacks, any where you can pin something. All the ones I have seen on the web appear to be made to hang, so thought I would be different :-)
Total size is 4" (not counting the pigtails or beads) x 2"
As you can see by her heart, she is meant to bring love and hugzz to anyone who needs it, and Cindy Lou is already earmarked for a friend. Every Hugzz will have a heart, either painted, embroidered or a button like Cindy Lou has.
Oh...almost forgot to put her picture on..LOL

She was a lot of fun to make and best of all I can make them all by hand while watching tv, tomorrow I plan on making one to send my Mom and another friend or 2 :-D

sick again

2009-06-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Why is it that every time I have lots of things I want to get done I get sick?
Have been spending most days laying either in bed or on the couch, one good thing though, these inactive days have allowed my mind to wander and explore possibilities. One hit me the other day and I began looking online for things related.
So I shall soon be experimenting and posting results, probably next week, hopefully I will feel better by then.
A small hint, experiments will use my love of photography, colored pencils and fabric art.
Another good thing about not feeling well and doing a lot of sitting is it gives me the incentive to do more crocheting, because I HAVE to do SOMETHING you know? So I have been making up more squares for my afghan, and last night I started a small weaving project which will be finished tonight, if it turns out the way I hope that will be posted later on too.
Hmmm, maybe being sick isn't as bad as I thought!
Stay tuned for further developments :-)

My daughter, the writer!

2009-06-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

I'm sure you have all heard me mention my daughter Sarita. I may have talked about how talented she is at drawing. What I may not have mentioned is how talented she also is at WRITING.
She gets all this talent from me and my side of the family..seriously, my Mom, brother, and my boys can all draw and except for my boys, write also. My grandson Myles is already showing promise in the art section too.
But I have gotten off track here.
What I wanted to let you all know is that my daughter has written the first book in a trilogy, her first novel, she also went to a writer's conference in NY and while there pitched her book to 3 agents...gotta hand it to her, she was very nervous about doing that but did it. Yeah Sarita!
Anyhow, all 3 loved it! Two of them wanted a partial (1st 50 pages) sent to them, but the 3rd, wanted the WHOLE manuscript emailed to her ASAP. That is how thrilled she was with my daughter's whole book pitch.
Me and her spent 2, 12 hour days (more for her, I needed sleep..lol) editing it. to make sure it was the best it could be.
So they have all been sent to the various agents and we are both biting our nails waiting to hear back.
If you would like to say good luck, or give a pat on the back to her, she just started her own blog and I'm sure she would love to hear from you.
Also, on her blog, you will be able to find out when the book will be out so you can make sure to grab your copy!
Sarita's Blog
BTW, can you tell I am bursting at the seams with pride in my little girl :-D

"Brothers"

2009-05-25T10:13:00.000-07:00

Here it is all done. Have been working on it since I got up this morning, with occasional breaks for bathroom, get Josh food, etc. Having lots of time to do what you love is a wonderful thing! Next up (already drawn and waiting) one of my brother Steve.

Working on this since last night, yep, was up until 3Am, finally quit cause I could barely see anymore..lol
These are my 2 boys, I think Tony (the blonde) was about 1 1/2 here and Josh was 7. I have always loved this photo of the 2 of them. Probably because it was taken way back when they actually showed how much they loved each other!

"Wayne"

2009-05-24T08:38:00.001-07:00

Another 8x10 colored pencil portrait, I know my version isn't as dark as the original but I think I did a better job showing depth this time around. I am guessing that each one I do will be better than the last.
Hopefully..LOL
I have become lost in the colored pencil world and am loving it :-)

"A Dad"

2009-05-20T13:26:00.000-07:00

Have just completed my first *customer* portrait. Below is both the portrait, an 8x10 done in colored pencils and the original photo.
Clicking on the portrait will make it bigger.

quick little watercolor, untitled for now

2009-05-17T16:58:00.001-07:00

My grandson spent the weekend and today he wanted to do arty stuff...his words :-) So I got out the watercolors. He did a painting of himself on a sunny day with grass, blue skies and an orange tree for his Mom on 9x11 watercolor paper and I did this quick little unplanned 5x7 piece. I had intended to do something abstract but it wanted to be a very vividly colored sunset I guess..lol

Cosmo: Portrait of a Dog

2009-05-14T09:30:00.000-07:00

I just finished this. It's a 9x11 colored pencil portrait of a Shepard Collie mix we had when the kids were babies.

Cats + Quilt = Contentment

2009-05-10T14:06:00.000-07:00

A 9 x 11" colored pencil work of my cats.

Tony, in colored pencils

2009-05-08T12:49:00.000-07:00

Here is my 1st attempt at doing a portrait with colored pencils. I also put the inspiration photo so you could see what I was doing :-)
This is of my son Tony when he was 5 or 6, I have always loved this picture of him.
Yes, I know I messed up on the upper background, just couldn't get it right, and I'm also not happy with the way his mouth came out, but overall I am pretty happy!
Oh, this is 9x11", the original was a 3x5 very small to work from!

Mushrooms

2009-05-06T20:46:00.001-07:00

Another photo from today, a few small mushrooms growing between concrete stepping stones of what used to be a walkway in the back yard. All that remains is about 5 of these rectangular pavers, and some mulch. With all the damp weather the moist, shady area in between is the perfect place for these tiny mushrooms to call home.

lonely

2009-05-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

Took this today in my yard, one poor little pansy, all by it's lonesome. But aren't the colors on it wonderful?

another colored pencil project

2009-05-04T10:27:00.000-07:00

The May challenge for colored pencils came out on Wet Canvas and being the nut I am, I decided to give it a whirl, even though all the refernce photos this month are HARD!
So here is the one I picked to do:
Here’s lookin at you by Steve Mac
And here is my version
Not as dark as the original photo, but I actually drew this all by hand,,no tracing at all, yes, I did use a ruler and circular items in some spots...lol
So what do you think?

the new home

2009-05-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Thought I would share some photos of the new home with you, the 1st 2 are views of the living room, bet you couldn't tell..lol

Here is a new use for Myles changing table, middle shelf holds cookbooks, bottom has a basket to put *stuff* in or a sleeping cat whichever claims it first...lol

My shelf of creamers, uncovered from their long stay in storage

a shot looking into the living room from the back door

the country part of me showing :-), notice the small shelf and how well it matches the wallpaper? I have had that shelf for years, when I saw the paper in the kitchen I knew I had found my home because of that shelf...lol

to the right of above wall is Josh's room, to the left the galley kitchen which you have seen in another photo already.

The Bananaquit

2009-05-01T16:15:00.001-07:00

This is a 9x12" colored pencil painting on watercolor paper of the Bananaquit, (following info from Wikipedia) : "The Bananaquit is a very small bird attaining an average length of 11 cm. It has a slender, curved bill, adapted to taking nectar from flowers. It sometimes pierces flowers from the side, taking the nectar without pollinating the plant. It cannot hover like a hummingbird, and must always perch while feeding. It will also eat fruit and insects. It often visits gardens and may become very tame."
According to Wikipedia the entire belly should be yellow, but the photo I used as a reference had this coloration.

red shoes

2009-04-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

Today I managed to squeeze some time out to do a quick drawing of these red shoes. The inspiration photo came from wet canvas' Weekly Drawing Thread, which I am trying to do each week, no matter what the subject or how difficult it may seem.

I know my shoes are not exactly like the photo, but they shouldn't be right? Everyone's version is a bit different. I also have not been able to do those darn laces yet...lol and my *shine* is wrong, but I am just happy I was able to do the shoes period!
I did these with an HB, a 4B and a red colored pencil

look at that sky

2009-04-26T20:36:00.001-07:00

Tonight, when his Dad dropped Myles off here I happened to notice that it looked like it was going to be a nice sunset, then I turned my head to the left and saw THIS. I just had to get the camera and take a couple of shots. This is a totally unedited photo which I took with no flash, which is why it is a bit grainy, but I wanted the true colors of tonight's sky to show.

Clematis, part 2

2009-04-26T10:02:00.001-07:00

Progress made last night, all I have left are the flowers themselves and shadows for them. Not sure what color they will be yet, since I haven't been able to match the reference photo color. So I may go with blue or red ones...
Now that the fence is done I see what I did wrong at the top, that black strip should be a really really dark brown part of the fence with a smaller black strip, but doubt I can fix that. I also think the leaves should have been a bit bigger, but all in all, I am pretty happy with this so far :-D

Clematis, WIP

2009-04-25T12:07:00.000-07:00

I feel a bit silly posting this but am going to do it anyways, as incentive to continue working on it until it is done and not give up. Now don't laugh, but here is what I have done in 2 hours (awww go ahead you can laugh if you want to!)
As usual, I am challenging myself to do something WAY out of my comfort zone. I drew this freehand , which is a very new interest for me. And I am using colored pencils, another very new interest, and I only have 12 colors so it has been a bit of a challenge to get the colors I want out of them, especially with not very much previous experience (well, ok NO experience, unless you count the apple ) I can't believe it takes 5 colors to get that leaf color!
But despite it all, I am having FUN and enjoying the process .
I am not too happy with the shadows of the leaves, maybe it is just me? Will work on them some more after I finish the leaves. Suggestions would be helpful!
So here it is...

I bet you can't get over this beautiful picture huh???

Butterfly Project

2009-04-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

The July online exhibit from WWAO, is going to be butterflies, which are then going to be donated for The Butterfly Project , here is the one I am working on.

Am not sure how I will finish this yet, right now it is 8x10, I am thinking of layering the image right sides together and then sewing along the outline, turning it right side out, maybe stiching along the butterfly's outline to make it look a bit 3D and then sewing it onto a painted 5x7 stretched canvas, or I may stretch another fabric over the canvas, one with leaves and the sew the butterfly on top.
Then again I might just layer it and quilt it as normal :-D

Slater Park shots

2009-04-21T14:52:00.000-07:00

A few shots I took today at Slater Park, the same scene, just different versions. Want to get this again on a nice sunny day, as you can see today was overcast and rainy. Not only that but as luck would have it, my battery was dying :-(

Apple

2009-04-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

Over the past week there has been a bit of chatter about colored pencils on WWAO, the women artist group I belong to. I have to admit it has made me curious and since it has been awhile since I tried a new medium I was thinking I might give it a shot.
So I was surfing around on Wet Canvas today and there in the colored pencil section was a challenge for April, one of the reference pictures was of an apple (by Ivyleaf) . Now I LOVE challenges and will jump in with absolutely no clue of what I am doing but always give it my best shot
So, because I can't draw very well at all, I chose the apple, I mean really, how hard can an apple be, right? Well, turns out that an apple is MUCH harder than it looks!
Below are my 3 attempts to do an apple with colored pencils, I doubt I will ever be a great artist with cps but I am pretty happy with the last one :-)
It is an 8x10

Pearl progress and Jacks

2009-04-18T09:46:00.001-07:00

Pearl has a head now, this one is just about done, just need to do a bit of drawing on it, and of course sewing.
I have pretty much decided to go with the other panels. Right now I have 8 planned, New title of this piece will be *Pearl at Work*, at least 5 of the panels will be close up of her hands, kneading bread, feeding chickens, churning butter, sewing, getting water by a hand pump, the other 3 might be, a pot bellied wood stove, a wash tub and board, a treadle machine, or maybe not..lol still pondering :-)
Here is another 11x14" piece I did this morning, again fused applique which needs sewing and quilting. This was one of the things I had planned to do and had drawn out, but last night when I went to check what this weeks WDE images were at wetcanvas, one of them was jacks! So, I just had to do them today...lol

Pearl

2009-04-17T07:58:00.001-07:00

What with one thing or another I didn't get quite as far with this as I had hoped today, but here is what I have so far. I'm going to try and get her head attached later, and then start adding the things to make it look a bit more 3D. Pretty pleased with it so far!

I found this picture in a National Geographic from 1977, and instantly knew she was going to be my next project. I have named her Pearl, after my great grandmother, who did live like this.

Currently Pearl is 11x14", I am toying with the idea of having other panels surrounding her of various items from that time...like a butter churn, treadle sewing machine, etc, but that is just a vague idea at this time.
Which idea do you like better?

Swan drinking

2009-04-11T11:48:00.000-07:00

My daughter bought me and early Mother's Day gift a couple of weeks ago that arrived in the mail yesterday so of course I had to play with it right away :-D
What she got me was a tracing projector, which was very good since my printer doesn't work with my new "old" computer.
Last night I spent awhile tracing photos of things I wanted to make into wall hangings.
This was one of them.
The 1st picture is 15x20" and is still a work in progress, the picture below that is the photo I took last year.
I really love my projector, the original is a 4x6 photo, I can enlarge things from that size up to 14xs bigger. The room in the cellar is going to come in very handy for doing larger sizes!
Wonder how many sheets of paper I will have to tape together for something that big?

Chili

2009-04-05T17:32:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since I have been able to do anything creative, so it felt really good to do something today. This was done for the fast friday fabric challenge. It was also done to have some kind of art to hang on my bare white walls in the galley kitchen. I have several "red" pieces I want to do for that wall, this, cherries and strawberries being a few.
Anyhow, this is a 12x20" piece, not quilted yet, made by fused applique, the shadow on the table was made with a fabric crayon.

Studio pics

2009-03-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

Well, ok, so this isn't a studio picture but I couldn't resist this shot of Katie sleeping in a box..lol

This is the sleeping part of the space, love quilt on the wall was made for me in 2003 by Beginners and Beyond, the online quiling group I belong to. This is one of my most cherished possessions and until today was on my bed :-)

The angelic gang

Not filled yet, have to find the rest of the pincushions, baskets hold beads, trims etc, and there are a couple of my elephants here too
This case has my paints, colored pencils, brushes, stamps, inks, scraps of fabric, gel and matte mediums, glues etc..
my work area, big tv is Sarita's hoping that she takes it soon!
fabrics, magazines, books etc..and some more elephants and of course EEYORE!
in between wall and 1st bookcase I have canvases, etc stored, when I bring it up, the space on the other side will hold my Flynn quilting frame
and that is it. Still have a few things to put out but basically this is done and ready for some work to be done in it :-)
Not quite the studio I had envisioned but it works great for me!
I didn't show the last side of the room cause there are still a couple of boxes in front of the closet, when they are gone, I will be using the top sliding door as my design wall by adding flannel to it. I love how all the totes are stored inside the closet too, keeps things looking neater. I also love that I have everything in here and still have almost 5 ' of space on all sides of the bed to move around in :-D

don't mind the mess..lol

2009-03-18T15:38:00.001-07:00

Ok, don't mind the boxes and stuff, but here is a picture of my room after the bookcases and sewing table were put in today. Because of several reasons I won't be using the space in the basement after all, but as you can see my room has PLENTY of space!
The bookcases measure a total of 13.5" and there are spaces in between them. Between my bed (a full) and the bookshelves there is a 4.5' space.
At some point I want to paint the fronts of the bookcases all the same colors, I already have the paint, just a matter of doing it.

Here is a shot at the space between my bed, which also has a trunk at the bottom of it that is 17" from bed to open floor, and there is a little over 4.5' space between the trunk and the end of the sewing table. On the other side of the bed, the side near the door I have my desk with another 4' space between it and the bed.
I have room on the closet floor for all 10 of the rubber maid totes too :-)
Nice size huh? Now I just need to get everything unpacked and squared away!

all moved in

2009-03-15T11:18:00.000-07:00

Well, the moving is all done and the packing is too, except for roughly 6 boxes that need to be gone through. I know that some of the things in them will end up trashed so not hurrying to do it.
Hoping to begin work on setting up the studio one day next week. I am beginning to have withdrawals symptoms ..lol
Have been going to the nearby thrift store, trying to find another bookshelf for my room, a chair for Josh's and with any luck a futon or something. Want either that or a daybed for my room for Myles when he sleeps over and also a love seat or something for Tony's room. Also haunting craigslist and freecycle for these items.
So far no luck but I have found a few things, a nice side table for the living room, sewing basket and a candle holder, shown in the picture, which will get bigger if you click on it. Pretty happy with these finds, especially since the total was under $20 for all three!

Today I am going to attempt to make REAL curtains for the kitchen, not my usual strip of fabric with two hems..lol
wish me luck!

3 more days!

2009-02-27T06:56:00.000-08:00

Monday we will be sleeping at our new place :-D
Tomorrow all the boxes go in, so I am hoping to spend some time after they are done and Sunday doing a bit of unpacking, would be nice to have something done before the furniture goes on Monday.
Sending Josh off to his program Monday, so he will be leaving from the old place and coming home to the new, have done this for every move and it works out great, I don't have to worry about trying to keep him occupied with no TV or anything, so first priority after furniture is delivered will be getting his room set up.
Looks like the weather will be on our side, rain is coming LATE Saturday, hoping late enough to miss the box moving!
SNOW will be coming LATE Monday, again hoping late enough to miss furniture moving AND Josh coming home, really don't want to have to shovel before we are even all the way in..lol
Then we can just stay in and make our pile of boxes into a home :-D
Looking forward to having life be a bit normal again!

short time :-)

2009-02-23T14:26:00.000-08:00

7 more days and we will be sleeping in the new apartment. And a busy 7 days it will be too!
Schedule is as follows:
Today I met the woman who inspected it to approve the moving company. As expected it passed with no problems. All she kept saying was "This is beautiful!" When she left she said, thank you for a great start to my day, I hope the rest are as nice as this one..lol Then I went to put in the change of address and did a very small grocery shopping, just enough for the rest of the week.
Tues and Weds I will be making sure all is organized here for movers and switching cable, internet and phone over now that I have a definite date. And doing any and all laundry, including curtains.
Thursday I have a food stamp recertification which I tried to change until after the move but they wouldn't do it.
Friday, rental center will come pick up the rented washing machine in the afternoon, that evening I meet with landlady, pay rent, find out where oil thing is and all that stuff. The go get some supplies to keep the movers hydrated and some donuts or something to keep them fed.
Saturday by 8AM the folks that are moving the boxes will be here, depending what time they finish up I may do some unpacking, hanging clothes in closets etc.
Sunday, my full size washer and dryer will be brought from storage and put in cellar
Monday, sometime after 8AM moving company will show up and take furniture, depending when they are done, we will be taking things they don't take, like baskets, and anything that can't be put in a box. Also food, rest of dishes etc
Tuesday will take anything that might be left, do a final check to make sure all is out, do a quick sweep and vac if I feel like it...lol label keys and leave them on counter and that is it for this place!
Wednesday...collapse!! Yea right, then I have to begin setting up the new place. Maybe by the weekend I will be able to collapse and relax for a day or two before starting over on Monday.
Doesn't this sound like fun?

new online photo toy

2009-02-20T14:11:00.001-08:00

I just discovered a new online photo editing *toy*. I played with it for a few minutes to make the following 4 photos. Clicking on them will make them larger, I really like the way it brings certain areas into focus while blurring out the rest!
You can try it by clicking here

no room to move!

2009-02-19T11:37:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd share some photos of how we are living right now! Still have a week of making our way through these towers of boxes, can't wait to start moving and living normally again..lol
The first picture is the main living room, on the other side of this stack is the door to Tony's room.

This box wall is in the former studio

This one is against one wall in the kitchen, in front of the hutch, the blue box in the front is filled and waiting for a lady from freecycle to come pick up

the other side of the kitchen

front half of my room, next to that bookshelf is a whole corner full of boxes too!

As it gets closer to the day the folks are coming to move the boxes, I plan on taking apart the kitchen table and moving all boxes to the kitchen to make it easier for them.
Lots of stuff huh? LOL

gifts from a fellow Freecycler

2009-02-19T09:22:00.000-08:00

Last night a man who has gotten a couple of items from me through freecycle, came over to pick something up and to my surprise brought literally hundreds of photographs he had taken along with several frames. He wanted to give me a couple as a thank you for the things.
Boy did I have a hard time choosing because he had so many beautiful pictures!
I wasn't able to look at all his shots because the boys were waiting on supper, which was done, but I did look at a LOT!
I finally settled on these 2. The one with the beads will go in my studio :-) and the other will become part of a grouping with other pictures of boats that I have.
Wasn't that such a nice thing to do? He is in the process of setting up a website to sell some of his photos, so I told him to let me know when it is up and running and I will help him get the word out. His name is David Beierl , so keep your eyes out for his site :-)

a weekend of freecycling

2009-02-15T10:53:00.000-08:00

Not much happening art or quilt wise around here lately, but I sure am making a small dent in the *unwanted and unused* items I have had laying around for years.
Really gotta love freecycle :-)

14 days and counting

2009-02-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

Two more weeks and I can begin moving boxes and stuff to the new place. My plan is to get as much of the non-furniture stuff as possible there before the 1st which is the official move date. Not only will it be easier for the movers to get things out that way, but with any luck I can have some unpacking done, like dishes and stuff. Almost everything is packed, I have left a couple of changes of clothes out for us with the washer we don't really need more than that. And when I begin the dishes will only leave 4 of everything .
It is going to be very hectic around here on the 1st, not only are we moving that day but the first floor is moving then too! Should be interesting, especially since the big moving company van for us is going to be in the driveway.
I can't wait to be out of here!

New ACEOs

2009-02-06T15:05:00.000-08:00

The urge to paint kicked in somewhere around midnight last night so did a couple of new cards.

I call the 1st one JOY, because it just feels happy to me.

And this one is titled WILDFIRE, it was untitled until a friend suggested that name, thanks Sharon!

Of the 2, I like Wildfire the best, and really wish I had made it as a bigger painting instead of a card!

Orchid

2009-02-03T19:12:00.000-08:00

What was gone has returned, talking about my muse of course :-)
I did the sketch for this month's ago and then it sat there, tonight I decided to get it out and try to do something with it. Here is the result.

It is drying so still in the hoop, I want to get a larger stretched canvas, paint it somehow, maybe more orange and yellow, maybe something darker..and then stitch this oval section down on top..maybe by adding a trim around the oval's edge. Anyway, this was done using watercolors and is on a piece of 100% cotton fabric, it measures out at 11x19 so wonder what size canvas I should get...maybe an 18 x 36?
Have to lay it out on graph paper and see what size would look best.
Just felt so good to be doing something new with paints and fabric!

New ish art

2009-02-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

My muse went into hiding for a couple of months, leaving me unable to do anything at all creative wise, except for taking pictures. Still the first one was taken a few months ago, but the second one was taken last week. So it isn't the greatest photo in the world but I took it mainly for inspiration and ended up liking how it came out, sooo :-)

Great news!

2009-01-30T15:41:00.000-08:00

I have found a new home and will be moving March 1. Such a relief!
First floor which is going to be great for my eldest son and myself. He won't be stuck at home anymore if he has to use his wheelchair.
It is close to so many things, (a mere 12 minute walk from his day program) Also a 20 min walk away is a great park with lots of features (a carousel and bandstand for summer concerts for a couple) and events...ok so it will take me an hour..lol BUT it is also right on a bus route which will be nice. I can already imagine all the inspiration photos I will be getting there :-D
Anyhow here are the pictures that were posted online from the apartment.
I figure you can tell what room the first picture is..lol isn't it purty???

This is MY ROOM! And it is HUGE. Was an addition they had built on the back of the house. Fan and light is remote controlled. Room is going to be painted to something a little more soothing and also something that blends with the teal carpet a bit better :-)
There will be room in here for my full bed and also a daybed for when my grandson stays over..or I may just use 2 twin beds...we'll see.

Look at all this empty space...this is the kitchen, although technically I guess dining room would be a better term for it since all the appliances are in the next picture..this room is going to look so empty with my little round 4 person table in it..lol..BUT I'm thinking it might be a good place to set up my hand quilting frame so I can finally start using it. Again..we'll see :-)
I just love the wallpaper in here. Usually don't see wallpaper anymore so this is a nice change. Through that arch is the living room, which is on the smallish size but will certainly hold my loveseat and tv..and I plan on looking for a couple of overstuffed chairs to add to it.
And here is the official kitchen. Not shown here is the brand new microwave they just installed in that space above the stove, the knobs on the cabinets are porcelain with painted flowers, again just my style.
There are 2 more bedrooms, a space in the cellar for me to hook up my very own washer and dryer, a small yard, off street parking and many many closets. Oh and let's not forget the skylight in the hallway leading from kitchen to my bedroom

Oh yea and under that pink bedroom in the cellar? There is a very big storage room, that is also heated and has outlets! Storage room? No say I...STUDIO! It does after all have a locking door.
No more of my creative mess visible in the main living areas...ever :-D

Will *go to work* during the day. Come up in the afternoon and at night do handwork, crocheting or (the reason I am thinking of putting the quilt frame in the empty kitchen) hand quilting :-)
Have to admit, the overall apartment just thrilled me but that room in the cellar was the icing on the cake for me.

I'm sure I will post pictures of things after we move in,,including before and after ones of my studio :-D

May I have the envelope please...

2009-01-15T07:09:00.000-08:00

And the winner of my Whirl into Winter Giveaway is.....

drum roll please.....

BETH of WILLOW LAKE STITCHES!!

Congratulations Beth and thanks to everyone who entered, I really enjoyed reading about all the things you might like to try this year. Everything from sky diving to having another baby!

Good luck to all of you with doing what you hope to and wishing you all a great 2009!

Now don't forget to check back HERE for the list of other giveaways to see if you won anywhere else :-D

Only 2 more days!

2009-01-12T20:22:00.001-08:00

Until my birthday!

Seriously though....

Don't forget at midnight on Jan. 14 I will begin the process of closing the giveaway and getting ready to pick a winner. So if you haven't left a comment yet, scroll down a couple of posts and add yours now.
I can't wait to see who won :-) What better way to celebrate my birthday than to give somebody a surprise!

And if I'm lucky maybe I will win one of the giveaways I entered lol

the list grows...

2009-01-10T08:03:00.000-08:00

well I have come up with 51 items on my list of 101 things to do this year, sure isn't as easy as I thought it would be, but as many of you know, I can't resist a challenge and this is a good one!

It's a start :-)

2009-01-05T06:55:00.000-08:00

One of my things to do this year is to begin crocheting , and maybe knitting again. During Christmas I found an old magazine with several afghans in it and fell in love with the patchwork one, which is what made me decide to begin this past time again.
Shown here is what I have done so far, I need 43 more of the squares , although I will say 44 cause that red one didn't come out right.
Also need 32 more flowers to embellish the 16 of these squares with.
Then I will move on to checkerboard blocks, and then stripes. The remaining solid blocks will have cross stitch and applique on them for embellishing.
Can you picture it yet?
The picture isn't showing the true colors, well, the red, yellow, bright blue and pink are right but the blocks that look like a navy are actually a rich purple.
I have found this to be a very relaxing, stress busting thing to do at night while watching tv..or should I say listening to it..lol although I have noticed that I can now look up occasionally and s crochet at the same time.
Funny story..
The other night I was on the chaise under a quilt working on a block, when the phone rang and scared the heck out of me...turns out the reason it scared me was because I was SLEEPING and had been for almost TWO HOURS. I was still holding the hook and block in one hand and the
strand of yarn across my fingers in the other..LOL

Whirl into Winter Give Away

2008-12-30T15:12:00.000-08:00

To welcome 2009, I've decided to participate in the Whirl into Winter Give Away. I will be giving away the 2 16x13" panels shown. The total size of the fabric is 44x18". These would make great beginnings for quilts, pillows or tote bags! Perfect to start your gifts for NEXT Christmas :-)

Entering is simple...
1. Leave me a comment starting January 1, 2009. Comments made before then will be deleted, so no early birds please, lol
2. VERY IMPORTANT! Make sure you leave your email in your comment so I can contact you if you win!
I will be accepting comments until MIDNIGHT on January 14. On January 15, 2009, a winner will be chosen by the time honored method of having my son or grandson pick a name from a bucket. Neither of them can read well yet so it will be very fair :-)
Everyone who leaves a comment is eligible to win, but you will only have one chance, no matter how many comments you leave, so to make my job easier, please only leave ONE!

To make this a little more fun, let's have themed comments....hmmm, in your comment answer this question. What is the ONE thing you have always wanted to try but haven't yet, and do you think you might attempt it in 2009?
I will even start it off. I have always wanted to make a Baltimore Album quilt by hand. I am cheating a bit here because I actually started a couple of blocks of this project last fall, but I want to really get working on it in 2009.

Now, are you ready for even more good news?

There are many other bloggers (60 or so!!) participating in this winter giveaway!
and the winner is...
BETH of Willow Lake Stitches!!
congratulations Beth and thanks to all who played!

To see a listing of all the blogs and a list of all the winners

CLICK HERE!!

Cathy

"Just a Pawn in this confusing, sometimes crazy, game called Life"

2008-12-30T06:49:00.001-08:00

This is my answer to this month's challenge on fastfridayfabric challenge group, the last Friday of the month a theme is announced and we have until the following Saturday to complete a piece. This month we were supposed to show emotion using a zinger color. I don't think I met the challenge totally, but this is what wanted to be made, so.....it is a 21" square, middle section is pieced from a few of my brightest, craziest fabrics that all have the same colors in them. (Thanks again for these to my secret santa!!) I like how the diagonal going down to the right bottom has black as the background, seems to cut a path through and ties in well to the border fabric, which also has tiny specks of the same colors in it.
I guess my zinger color would be white.
My son (who has already claimed ownership of this one..lol) said I should have made the "chessboard" with the right amount of squares, I think it's 64? I thought of that but then they would have been so small and I wanted to show the tiny pawn (me) next to the bigger squares (life)
I think the title says what feelings I was trying to show here...confusion, (the many different patterns) although this could also show joy (all the colors), sadness (the black), and hope (the white) surrounding all the other emotions.
Am I making any sense???? LOL

My Mom at Christmas

2008-12-28T20:11:00.000-08:00

My Mom's friend came and got her from the nursing home to spend the day at her house with her and her SO at Christmas.
She emailed me a couple of pictures of my Mom, which was the best gift I could have gotten. This will more than likely be my Mom's last Christmas, so I am glad that she spent it with friends and had a pretty good day.
If you notice her earrings, they came to her from the Guardian Angel Artists ,
she told me that she has been getting lots of different types of angel artwork from this group (as well as cards from WWAO and BnB!)
If any members from these groups happen to see this, I would just like to thank them for helping to make her remaining days happier.
It means a lot to me and even more to her.

Bear and his new duds!

2008-12-27T13:22:00.000-08:00

today Myles asked me if I could make Bear some clothes.
Ummm, I think so..
First we went fabric *buying*.
Myles (and Bear) had very definite ideas, black and white pants and an orange shirt.
Luckily he found the pant fabric that he loved, the shirt was harder, I don't have much of any orange, but then we found this, which I added some of another orange to for the sleeves and neck, neck and pant waist have elastic for easier dressing :-)
After I managed to make this outfit he says "Bear needs a Superhero on his shirt, do you still have some Spiderman fabric?"
Now while I think Bear is not going to be making any well dressed bear lists Myles absolutely LOVES the new duds and he tells me that Bear says he loves them too :-D

some snowy scenes from my hood

2008-12-21T11:06:00.001-08:00

The pictures say it all :-)

Pay it Forward

2008-12-21T09:20:00.000-08:00

While surfing blogs, I stumbled upon Roberta's. She is participating in Pay it Forward. This has always been one of my favorite movies and ideas. Have always wanted to act on it, but never got around to it.

The time to do so has finally arrived.

For those of you that have not seen the movie the concept is this. Whenever someone does a good deed for you instead of doing something nice back to that same person you pay it forward. It's simple. You select 3 people to send gifts to. Their only liability to you is that they promise to also pay it forward three fold. What a fantastic way to spread a little goodness, huh?

The gifts I make will be sent out sometime in the next six months (probably much sooner than that, but I'm allowing myself plenty of time). Then in return, you make the same PIF promise on your blog. You must have a blog to participate and you have up to six months to send out your handmade gifts. Ready to join in the fun? Just leave a comment! :0)

Camera play

2008-12-19T18:01:00.000-08:00

Playing with reflections tonight during the storm, this is the best of about 20,,tried some from the other side but for some reason that gives me a double reflection, maybe the double panes of glass show more at that angle..

Today's project

2008-12-19T09:48:00.001-08:00

Not sure where I got it, but I have this very old Santa suit, so today I decided to stuff it and make a Christmas scarecrow to sit in the living room window :-)
I used a newer hat cause the old one was really crummy. His face is a Halloween mask of an old man that I added fiberfill to for the beard. He is belted into the chair by his belt to hold him sitting.

Of course Santa isn't complete without some kids around, so here is my grandson, wearing the old hat, so you can see what I mean about it's condition!
I told Josh to go see who was in the living room..so naturally he wanted his picture taken with Santa too! This is my oldest son.

that time of year again

2008-12-19T08:19:00.000-08:00

Near the end of December many of us begin to think of resolutions to make for the coming year. Some of us make the same ones every year, lose weight, exercise more, etc etc. I am one of those people :-) Somehow, no matter how good your intentions are, after the first few weeks those resolutions are forgotten.

So this year I am trying some new ones.

The first and biggest of these is to get rid of the HUGE 11'x15' storage room!! I now
have room here, if Sarita will take me to get 4 boxes a week I should be able to
get rid of most of it through freecycle, craigslist or internet. Money from that
(if any) WILL be stashed away! Hopefully will make enough to get myself a newer
computer (or have my very talented younger son make me one!)

Number 2 resolution is to try and have a more positive outlook and keep my
stress level lower by worrying less. Have discovered that worrying doesn't do any good at all and the only thing it accomplishes is making me miserable!

Third is to stay smoke free! Has been 3 weeks so far! Had the money, had the
opportunity, but been sick and the thought of standing outside smoking in the
cold has not been appealing..lol

So those are my 3 main goals for next year.

What are YOUR resolutions?

renewing interest in an old hobby

2008-12-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

Have been feeling really crummy lately with not much energy, so decided to try my hand at crocheting again. It has been roughly 26 years since I did any of this. Have to say I am enjoying it though. I am making gifts for folks,,shown is a bath buddy washing mit for my grandson and a back scrubber for my daughter, I also made her an adult bath mit, but Myles claimed it for his bath days here so am going to make her a new one to match her back washer :-)
I found these free patterns on crochetnmore

finally made a quilt for ME :-)

2008-11-25T10:16:00.000-08:00

way back in 2005 we did a bday block swap, I chose the depression block as the one I wanted to get.
I FINALLY made a quilt from them (plus 4 extra I made)
This is 48 x 60 and is perfect for me when I am on the chaise watching tv, yep, I took it out of the bedroom and put it in the living room, much better for my legs :-)
Going to quilt it now and bind it tonight.

under door draft guard

2008-11-25T07:23:00.000-08:00

Today's quickie project.
They sell these in catalogs and stuff for $10, for $5 I got 5 pipe
insulators (the grey thing in picture) and using an old pair of jeans
made TWO of these for my doors. They slide under the door so there is
a *roll* on each side and it stays put when opening and closing the
door. So much better than having to put the thing back in place all
the time and VERY easy to make!

Some ideas for the animal lovers on your holiday list!

2008-11-14T09:38:00.000-08:00

If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you will find some wonderful gift ideas from some of my fellow artists from WWAO!
Check back often as the theme of my mini mall will change daily!

the answer to what is that #2

2008-10-31T10:42:00.001-07:00

This is what it is :-) I used the bottom part. The ones I have are clear, below this picture is the picture I took to work from. I held it out in front of me angling up and took a close up shot, then converted it to black and white.