To Do List

I always like to see people making lists since I'm a list lover from way back. Anna at Door Sixteen has some ambitious home project lists which inspired me to do the same. Also, I need the public shaming since the private list making isn't really getting me anywhere. This is a post-Labor Day list since we've got family coming and then we're free to run wild! It's pretty ambitious but here goes:

1. Move everything out of the studio/guest room
2. Remove the quarter round molding from around the floor
3. Patch quarter round holes
4. Remove laminate floor
5. Paint the walls
6. Paint molding
7. Install wood tile floor
8. Grout said floor
9. Rearrange and move everything back in to look like this or this or this. Or not.
10. Remove quarter round in the hallway
11. Patch quarter round holes 
12. Paint the hallway
13. Paint the molding
14. Convince Rolland I need a shiny sparkly chandelier (really love this) in the hallway
15. Put down tile
16. Grout tile
17. Move everything out of Sophy's room
18. Remove the quarter round from around the floor
19. Patch quarter round holes 
20. Remove the laminate floor
21. Paint? It's really, really pink and makes everything weird in pics. May just knock it down a couple of shades
22. Paint molding to cover hole patches
23. May consider a new light fixture since it's also crazy dim... Rolland really might kill me. :O  Maybe just use existing hanging IKEA light over rocking chair and add a switch?
24. Install wood tile floors
25. Grout floors
26. Build built-ins and window seat along window wall
27. Figure out how to make/find a seat cushion for window seat
28. Move all back in and hope she's still got a reasonable sleep schedule

Take a break for Christmas!

Mid-week Progress

Not much to share in pics but I've got several projects in progress. I had to take a round 2 with filling a bezel with resin. First round, not great, so I added a pic to the top and a thin coat of diamond glaze so I hope that salvages the piece since I really like it. I have big plans for the chain.

The kitchen has been more successful. I made a super tasty quiche on Monday, while watching the Patriots get pounded by the Saints (so sad), and tonight a spicy tomato soup found here. Yummy goodness. This weekend I'm thinking we might use the smoker for some barbecue experiments. It's finally gotten cold enough for more tasty comfort food. Maybe turkey?

Note: no turkey was consumed on Thanksgiving so we're not completely out of our minds with turkey overload.

Recipe Box

This is a sneak peek of our baby dining room remodel. It was mostly a paint job with some furniture rearranging and some desperately needed accessories updating. But, you can get a glimpse of my old plastic recipe box that I've had for about 14 years. I was on the hunt for a new one and after a week of searching online I finally realized I was crafty and could take care of this myself. After a quick trip to Michael's with my 40% off coupon (Rolland's new nightmare since I make him go through the line with my other goodies) and a bunch paint - throw in some rhinestones and a doll head - then viola my new recipe box. I think she's going to look great on the book case.

October Goodness

October is my favorite month. By October fall is settled in and the heat of summer is entirely replaced by the crisp edge that hints of winter. Windows are open at night, extra blankets are added to the bed and the sky seems to have a slightly deeper tint on the perfect lovely blue that spring always promises but fall delivers. The moon is huge and starts to peek through the dormer over my front door and I know I can safely pull out the heavy sweaters and corduroy pants.

This October, I have planned to take advantage of every minute of fall goodness:

1. Round Top show this weekend - incredible antiques near Austin
2. Urban Bazaar
3. Visit from my family to plan next fall's New England road trip - I need to start reading up. 3 guide books have been purchased so far! I love to plan a trip. We're also going to check out Jimmy's Food Store and the McKinney Square (this is easy since it's about a mile away!).
4. Visiting Maija in Phoenix and taking a couple of these classes
5. First Monday with Jen and Bo - we are ladies who love the vintage, furniture and roasted corn!
6. Halloween candy shopping - this will require a couple of rounds since I like to get the good stuff then panic I don't have enough
7. I think we're going to visit the State Fair since we hate to miss out on the fried butter. Actually, I think I can but it's nice to know it's an option.
8. My friend Kate and I are practicing our cooking skills and thinking about pastry. The class we were signed up for tomorrow has canceled so I think we're going to take matters into our own hands.
9. I have to finish the dining room paint project. Mostly before the family arrives so I can get the ladders out of the dining room!
10. I'm getting ambitious and planning to paint the bedroom. I'm not sure where this fits into the above!

See, fall is awesome since you can do all of the above without worrying about melting into an unattractive pile of goo!

What do you have planned for October?

Love Box

I've been working on this box since last week trying to get the paint layers right plus all the layers of paint and collage. I can't even say how happy I am with the results. I've talked about my love of Lisa Kaus here before but I really appreciate how open she's been with her work and techniques so I was able to create my own interpretation of her pieces since it's unlikely I'll be able to attend a class soon. Although it's definitely on my wish list for 2009!

The photo shows how I started with a few layers of paint. I wished I had taken step by step photos but I would be working on it then remember I should've taken a pic! Here's my step by step process. The base was two round wood chip boxes from Michael's that I gessoed then used absorbent ground on the entire piece. I coated with a few coats of red/pink/iridescent silver mixed with glazing liquid. Next I added a glaze of iridescent stainless steel (golden) and glazing liquid then started on the finishings. I discovered a nice trick of creating the scallops and circles with charcoal pencil so when I went in with the white paint the charcoal created a nice aging effect. The entire pieces were aged with charcoal pencil and I sealed them with workable fixative so the charcoal doesn't smear. Finally I added the collaged text, glitter and 3d elements (like the washers I keep on hand just for such purposes!). The final step was to use epoxy (this holds like magic) to connect the boxes together add the green handle, dice and doll head. Now, the entire piece is going to the mantle!

Puppies post day care

We're doing some back porch/patio re-modeling and the puppies had to go to puppy day care while the guys did some construction since they lost free reign of the yard and the puppy door. I think the day care was successful since they were pretty played out for the drive home!

This is also how I've felt most of the day. I think the last few days of running wild with no work have caught up with me and I've crashed on the couch in front of the fire and thought of all the things I should be working on but I'm giving myself a pass since this is what lists are for! I have made significant progress on cleaning up the studio and getting it back into working shape. I also made this fun little Christmas collage that made it's way into charms for a swap. I like to think that he's just looking for Santa to put the girl for him under the Christmas tree.

More Lisa Kaus inspirations

A co-worker of my husband's requested some tins of her own so I made these for her this weekend. Thanks to a tip from Tina these dried in a jiffy!

Yuri's B-day

My friend Yuri's b-day was last week but we weren't able to get together until tomorrow so I have yet again underestimated the amount of time it takes to do something! I've been working on his presents most of this afternoon until... oh, now. :) I made him a bracelet from one of my favorite tin cans of all time, a treacle can from England, and a mosaic mirror. He's Mexican-American and he loves to travel and recently took two large trips. One to England and one to Mexico, I wanted to incorporate these milestones into his present, hence the bracelet and Mexican themes in his mirror. I really hope he likes it. I included some glass pebbles, crowns and a milagro in the piece which should cover everything he likes... jewelry, sparkly-ies and sparkly crowns!

Viola.. I have a mirror!

I finished my brother's mirror today and I'm just letting everything sit up and harden overnight but then it's ready... I'm kind on the ball with Christmas gifts since it's just May but I've been making tiles for two weeks so it does require a little pre-planning. I'm absurdly proud of myself and how it turned out. The thousands of tiny cuts on my fingers was entirely worth it. Now I just hope he likes it. My husband looked at it and said, "that looks like a lot of work" to which I replied "Yep , you hate it right?". He looked very sweet and thoughtful and replied that it was not to his taste but they would love it. So I appreciate that he recognizes the hard work and clearly the hint here is don't make us one and hang it in a high traffic area where he has to see it. :) I want to make a version of it in creams, pinks and chocolates with a Parisian girly twist... we'll see how it turns out.

I highly recommend taking Laurie Mika's class if you ever get that chance, she's great about really telling you what works and what doesn't. She's also inspiring and pushes you to work outside your normal comfort zone. Her class was really fabulous so, thanks Laurie!

A Plethora of Tile

So I've taken pictures of the tiles I'm making for my brother's mirror and they have over run the kitchen! As I said in an earlier post I want to have lots of choice to play and swap them in and out. I think the colors are turning out really pretty and I feel especially artistic when I get to play with paint and brushes. The Betty Boop-like tile is for a project for a friend of mine and I like the dice stamp. I put seed beads in for the dots on the die to add a little sparkle...gotta have the sparkle!

Sparkly period

I'm definitely in my sparkly period. One of my new favorite things in the world is German glass glitter and I might, not admitting anything here, think that almost every project would benefit from a little bit of sparkle. (I do tend to over do on the jewelry as well.) But I've added a couple of projects so you can see my latest craze. The Paris box doesn't necessarily translate well from the photo but the letters in Paris are made from black cardstock spray glued and then covered in pure silver glitter. The images are photos that I took when we visited Paris last fall. The box itself is painted in several layers of various grays and silvers. I wanted the box to appear like a vintage jewelry box that's losing it's luster but aging gracefully.

The other project is a box that I crackled and lined with this fantastic paper made by Cavallini that shows tarot cards with puppies used as the major arcana. It's all in black and white. The images are funny and beautiful all at once... I'm partial to that particular pairing. The form was painted black and then covered in clear glitter to shine. I added a bottle cap necklace and called it done. They are set up in a pairing in my bedroom with a faux limoges Paris box, 5 euro in Paris (who could resist!) and several photos of husband and I in vintage frames. It's one of my favorite spots in the house.

I'm still working on the altered book and a collage for my Dad's b-day. His b-day is on Sunday and I'm leaving tomorrow at 5:30 am for Kansas... it's a long drive and I'm a little worried I might not make it but it'll be fun trying!

I'll post the collage images when finished. Have a great weekend!

Marathon Olympic Watching

So we've gotten a little bit behind in our Olympic coverage. We've got more than a few hours built up on the TiVo (love the TiVo... seriously, can't say enough!). A friend and I caught the Chronicles of Narnia last night, second time viewing and just as good, and it's just a beautiful movie. The lamp post burning in the forest with the snow is gorgeous. I'm hoping to figure out a way to capture that in a collage or mixed media project but don't have any specific ideas as yet.

I'm working on an altered book made of round coasters from On the Border. It's a little bit embarrassing how much I love that restaurant given the great Mexican options here in Dallas but I can't help myself. A nice waiter gave me a huge stack of them after I mentioned they could be used in art projects. Currently, there are six on my desk drying after their second coat of gesso (one of my favorite art supplies ever!) and I'm thinking about a circus theme. I love Cirque du Soleil and am thinking of doing some thing with the Altered Cirque as a theme. There are some great stamps from Zettiology and I have a few along with some vintage circus scrap that I think could be really great. I'll post photos if it all works out!

Now, I have to head back to the Olympics, hubby and the fire... yes, it has finally gotten cool enough to really enjoy a fire here. It's supposed to be in the 20's tonight! Keep warm, it sounds like there are cold fronts moving in almost everywhere.

I'm adding a photo of the necklace I made while avoiding cleaning my studio space. I was pretty happy with how it turned out. I dyed the domino with Adirondack alcohol ink in Lettuce and stamped it then screwed in eye screws (you have to start pilot holes prior to inserting the eye screws - I used my dremel). Finally, I just used wire to create the necklace with natural stone beads and tiny swaravoski crystals. The domino lays flat when you wear so it's comfortable to actually wear. I need to do some further experiments with color on the domino to find the perfect dye.

Have a happy Friday!

Gearing up for Valentine's Day

I'm just getting started in the blogging world but it's really exciting to have a format to talk about art with other artists across the country, or across the world, it makes you aware of how small the world really is! My latest project has been to create Valentine's cards. Our family live in the Midwest ... and it can be a half-mile to mile hike for hubby's relatives so they're very excited to find something other than bills and junk mail! I've attached two of my favorite cards so you can see the sort of romantic theme I picked for this year. Last year was very geometric, I went a little more traditional this year.

My husband made some boxes/shrines for me to alter so that's my next project, I'll keep you posted!