Mindless Wonders

welcome to my blog

2012-01-18T11:38:00.000-06:00

a place where i post my art

which is weird , fun and sometimes scary
I make art to suite me , my moods, my thoughts, whatever its probally in my art somewheres good luck finding it (:

2012-01-10T23:56:00.004-06:00

My daughter asked me to paint her a picture of a goth girl

this is what i came up with im pretty happy with how she came out..

I used watercolors, acrylics, and sharpies to complete her
I guess i did ok since Pam has in hanging up in her room already :)

giveaway on this blog

2011-12-27T14:40:00.002-06:00

be sure to check out this blog for a great give away and she has lots of wonderful creative ideas as well

http://keepsakesbymelissa.blogspot.com/

recent drawings

2011-11-10T10:03:00.000-06:00

thought i would post a few of my recent drawings. lately i have been mostly playing with colored pencils and markers. Something i can do while setting in my comfy recliner, with warm kitties in my lap.

this one is just a line drawing of a girl i think her eyes are a bit off and she looks so sad but i kind of like her.

here is my purple princes i really like the way she came out

and my alian basketball player

not sure what this is alian or ant or maybe a cross but i think shes kind of cute

last one for now hes not done yet I havn't decided what color im going to make him maybe tan or blue

art challenge

2011-10-29T22:20:00.002-05:00

i made him for an art challenge im pretty happy with him he is mix media i used chalks , die cuts, pearl x , gel pens torn paper and whatever else i happened to have on hand i wish my gel pens would have worked better and i will probally go over his chest and head with the white gel pen when i get a new one

Tea anyone

2011-09-03T22:29:00.001-05:00

a haunting teacup

I had so much fun making this

the cup and saucer are made from paper machae

then i used some pearl ex and reinkers mixed with glue for the top coat

little skelton pieces and a ghost to add character

I really like the way this came out

my grandbaby Adrian Mae 3 months old

2011-08-23T22:03:00.000-05:00

just got this photo today and had to post it on my blog

random drawings

2011-08-23T21:40:00.001-05:00

just some random drawing from my art journal mostly playing with colored penciles and black ink pen

want a drink

sea of faces

not again

batty

         drawing of an amulet bag that i made for myself
something i where when i need inspiration                                                                                                          my first try at drawing a
                                                                                                                     nude image

some pages from my most recent art journal

2011-08-23T21:19:00.001-05:00

the first one is my grimlin he in not in my journal but setting on my desk when i get ready to do art i turn him over so that what i see is my postive resonses to his negative thoughts

my postive enforcer my permission

the best me
found poetry this was fun and i love the way it came out

more random doodles

a few pictures of grandbaby Adrian

2011-07-05T10:44:00.000-05:00

Adrian and Grimlin

my celling in my art room

2011-06-28T15:03:00.000-05:00

since several of you asked here are the pictures of my celling i have the beams filled up and have been slowing adding things to the celling itself I hope to one day have it mostly covered The beams were added a couple of years ago when we had a really bad ice storm and the weight of the ice collapsed the trusses and since there was no way to repair the room (to dangerous to climb up there and no one could get out to do it anyways) we did the next best thing built to supporting beams in the room they go all the way across and have supports from celling to floor DH painted them for me and we started putting my art back up first he started filling up the beams which give me even more space for my art on the celling itself
i have been adding to it whenever i get the chance I am planning to run several strands of ribbon from floor to celling and use mini clips and clothpins to hold atcs havn't decided just where i want to put them yet

a purse made from an old book

2011-06-28T14:53:00.000-05:00

i made this for a swap im in starting to slowly get caught up with everything

this is a purse that i made from a hardback book i stated with this tutorial

http://www.my-perfect-designer-handbag.com/book-purse.html#bookpursevideo

then i added my own twist to it and made it mine I was afraid that glue alone would not be strong enough so i used brads to give it added support im pretty happy with it I hope my partner likes it now i just have to stuff it with crafty goodness and find a box it will fit in. and i can add it to the growing pile of packages that will be going out Friday .

I used some of the pages from the book to embellish the front and back since the cover didn't really have much on it i added a part of the page with a listing of his books and also added a page that had the tittle and author on it

i choose musical notes fabric for the lining not sure if it really goes with the title or not but i kind of like it
i thought it needed a bit of color so for the handles i used some red braided cord that i had

DH and Kitty taking a nap

2011-06-28T14:32:00.001-05:00

I just don't think you can get much more comfortable than that DH and his cat Christmas name so because we found her on the side of the road Christmas Eve a few years ago she was soak and wet and it was starting to sleet I think she was a good save when we found her she was just a kitten and i had to chase her down a steep hill, she tried to hid under a rock quit the adventure but she was worth it

paper flowers

2011-06-25T23:49:00.000-05:00

i played with making paper flowers tonight

these are made by starting with a piece of light scrapbook paper mine was white on one side so i wadded it up then rubbed some ink over the white side to add a bit of color

now wad it up several times making it soft and pliable then either cut or tear it into a rough circle then continue tearing in a circle remember the paper snakes or spirals you use to make as a kid same thing

now start from the middle and loosely roll it into a flower shape smash and shape it till your happy with it

i also added some torn paper leaves

book using accordian fold

2011-06-25T23:40:00.000-05:00

using the same accordian fold as i did with the shadow box i made a small book .you can make these different sizes as well just choose the size you want and cut your paper to fit

a top view to kind of give you an idea of how it goes together you just put your pages on the inside folds leaving one loose on the front and back to glue the cover remember to make a wide spine for your book so it has plenty of room to grow these little books are great for chunky pages and embellishments i only made mine with 4 pages not including the cover but you could add more pages if you wanted to

one of the inside pages i used cream paper for my pages and black for the spine because i wanted you to be able to see it in the photos but it is better to use the same colors for both.

butterfly shadowbox

2011-06-25T23:26:00.000-05:00

I made a shadowbox today using the tutorial that you can find here

http://iritshalom.blogspot.com/2011/02/book-shaped-shadow-box-tutorial.html

I had fun making this and like the way it came out

its hard to see in the picture but the butterfly inside is metal and i give him a string body with feelers
i took a piece of clear plastic and stamped the image and words on it and put it on just before i put the outside frame pieces on

I used my score board and made them 1 inch wide i scored 1, 3, 5, 7, and ,11 inches then flipped it over and scored at 2, 4, 6, 8,and 10 inches making it easy to make the folds

its probably about an inch deep when its all put together and you can make these any size just by change the length and width of your strips

image transfers

2011-06-22T23:33:00.001-05:00

i played with image transfers this evening

i used an ink jet printer and lemon scented pinesol

you can also use a laser printer but instead of lemon scented pinesol just use water
here is the link to a wonderful tutorial on how to do the transfers
http://inkstainswithroni.blogspot.com/2011/06/inkssentials-foil-tape-image-transfer.html

the only thing i did different was to use the pinesol and my ink jet printer

for these first ones i used foil tape put the image face down on the tape then using a paint brush i brushed on lemon scented pine sol then i started to gently rub the paper off this is what they look like

these last two were done the same way except i used clear packing tape i love how these came out

steampunk style spoon for swap

2011-06-16T00:49:00.000-05:00

Im in a swap where we are suspose to take a spoon and make it a steampunk piece
so tonight i worked on it and this is what i came up with

I had a lot of fun making this and im really happy with the way she came out

Adrian Mae Hartley

2011-05-14T22:57:00.000-05:00

Born May 14th at aprox 8:30 am 4 lbs 12 ozs 19 inches long Mom and babie are doing fine

what can you do with an empty tolite paper tube

2011-03-25T08:51:00.000-05:00

from this

to this

its amazing what can be done with something that is considered trash

the tags inside were made from scraps of paper and some pretty fall leaf stickers that i had laying around

the paper rolls were wrapped in scrapbook paper and i added some ribbons and bound them with my comb binder

I used three toilet paper rolls to make this book

inside of book and a couple of the tags

small note book and charms

2011-03-10T09:44:00.000-06:00

a small note book perfect to carry in your purse to jot down a quice note or phone number

2 big cat charms ready to add a chain for a fun necklace or use in your crafts

Mind mapping

2011-02-25T15:40:00.000-06:00

not sure if i know what im doing or not but here is my first try at mind mapping
The arts not great but i did enjoy the process and im sure i will be making some more of these

WE HAVE A WINNER

2011-02-18T10:09:00.001-06:00

DIGITAL MISFIT from Canada

Im sorry i didn't get a picture posted sooner but life took over and i just got them done last night I made two so you get to choose which one you like the best the word charm says imagine .
please contact me with your addy
thanks for playing

One world one heart

2011-02-02T08:27:00.003-06:00

Welcome to my blog

I have a little bit of everything scattered throughout mostly art with a little bit of life thrown in here and there
my name is Carolyn and im from Missouri I live with my husband and 8 cats i have been doing a variety of art for many years my favorite is paper crafts and needle felting little necklaces that i call amulet bags

for my door prize this year im offering an amulet bag necklace i will post picture soon.
but if you look at the post beneath this one you will see some samples of other amulet bags that i have made

all you have to do to win is to have an active blog and leave a comment below this post i will pick a winner on the 17th of Feburary .

if your new to One World One Heart then you can go here for more information

nice meeting you

amulet bags

2011-01-17T09:13:00.000-06:00

some amulet bags i made each of the charms , have a special meaning to the owner which will not be posted here but each of you know the meanings of your bag and i have enclosed a note telling you what i choose and why

for Barkleysmommy

for 4smartmonkeys

for wickered

more peace symbols

2011-01-14T09:47:00.001-06:00

this set of three are made from some soft foam circles that i had i colored them with metallic pens then blinged them up a bit. these are about 3 inches across at widest point

front Back

this set is made from metal rings and beaded these could probally be used as a necklace if you wanted to
they are a bit over an inch across at widest point

these last ones were made with fun plastic they are not perfect but i kind of like how they came out except for the very bottom one these are black on the back side but they could be colored like the last one ( the bottom one has a peace sign drawn on it like the ones in the first group ) these are also a bit over an inch at widest point

peace symbol

2011-01-07T08:44:00.000-06:00

i made this last night i seen a picture of one on esty and wanted to see if i could make something like it

it is aprox 6 inches across at widest point
i like the way it came out i want to try making a smaller one next and maybe a bigger one

12 days of Christmas day 12

2010-12-13T07:13:00.000-06:00

last day of the tags these have been so much fun to do I love the technique of using the crackle paint over the distressed ink I used a tag for my pallet then when i was done i just smeared the excess all over the tag creating an interesting background the face is stamped over an old book page

12 days of chrstmas day 11

2010-12-12T19:06:00.000-06:00

this was a fun tag I had fun with it the wrinkled gold on the bottom is gold foil wadded up for a real crinkly effect

12 days of christmas day 10

2010-12-11T22:18:00.000-06:00

I had a lot of fun with this tag I really like how it turned out i had some washers that i used to hold the plastic onto the tag and used brads to hold them in place .

12 days of Christmas day 9

2010-12-09T22:23:00.000-06:00

I like the way this came out I think still a bit undecided on it

I had a hard time with the rosette but after several tries i managed to get it put together.
i still need to add some ribbon thru the top

12 days of christmas day 8

2010-12-08T22:49:00.000-06:00

i got day 8 done
i made a mask from my bird stamp and when i stamped it onto the tag i purposefully off stamped it

I hand drew the tree branch and added some color with gel pens .
i added a bit of an old book page to the edge of the stamp

12 days of christmas day 7

2010-12-07T20:23:00.000-06:00

here us Tims tag number 7 I had fun creating it
with my own twist.
I did have a canvas flower from my stash so i used it and a fragment with an old book page under it I colored the top of it lightly with alcohol ink I do like playing with the fragments

12 days of christmas day 6

2010-12-06T20:57:00.000-06:00

not sure if this will count as tag 6 since i really didn't have any of the items needed to complete todays tag so i used some of the technniques that i learned from the other days

I kind of like the way it turned out

12 days of Christmas day 5

2010-12-05T23:30:00.000-06:00

day 5 I used several of the techniques from his tag the crackled tag ink background and the paint technique with the paint dabber I really like how this came out as well

12 days of christmas day 4

2010-12-05T22:38:00.000-06:00

this has to be my favorite one so far its not a Christmas tag but kind of a odd steampunk style
i used the technique for the facet one of my favorite technique so far

12 days of christmas day 3

2010-12-03T22:27:00.001-06:00

here is my tag for day 3

this one was a real challenge but i worked hard to make it my own
for the flower and tie on the tag
I used a paper towel that i used to wipe up extra alcohol ink from my make shift telfon tray .
the bottom stamp life is a masterpiece is one of my favorites
and covered the tag with winter ice embrossing powder

i really like the way it came out.

12 days of christmas tags

2010-12-02T22:34:00.000-06:00

I got the tags done for day 1 and 2

im doing the 12 days of christmas tags on Tim Holtz blog

for day one

I used the straight line grunge board for the house grunge paper for the door and chimmey winter ice embrossing powder and clear plastic from a package colored with alcohol ink it looks green in the scan but its really yellow

day two

its hard to see the tree but it has several shades of green on it loved making the stamp pad have to get some more felt so I can make more of these pads

I used some rinestones for christmas balls

a wax pencil for the words

a leaf stamp for the background

hand drawn fish ATCS

2010-11-16T14:31:00.000-06:00

I don't think you will find these fish swiming in an ocean or lake near you but I had a blast making them two of them are for a swap and the other two are extras

Mrs Fish

Fancy

Mrs Fish take 2

Uni Fish

dotee doll

2010-11-10T19:45:00.000-06:00

I enjoy making dotee dolls and this is my latest with a hippie theme

if you like these and would like to join in some swaps for them I stated a yahoo group the link is here

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/just-dotee-dolls/?yguid=400393073

godness doll ornaments

2010-11-10T19:29:00.000-06:00

there are a couple of dolls i made last night

these are the first cloth art dolls i have ever made

2010-10-05T11:38:00.003-05:00

Easy Map Folder

here is the front of mine I havn't got it done but it gives you a general idea of what it looks like . I added a pocket on the front of it . I will post a picture of the decorated map folder when im done with it

This is how I made mine you can change the size to fit your map

what you need one sheet of 12 x 12 medium weight card stock and a couple of smaller pieces for the pockets depending on the size you want to make your folder

cut to 10 x 10 1/4

score at 5 and 5 1/4

fold on score lines your folder should be 5 inches across with a 1/4 inch spine to allow it to fold neatly .

now all you need to do is make the pockets

you can choose to make one or two pockets you could even put one on the outside if you wanted to

start by cutting a piece of card stock the width of the completed folder plus 1 inch

mine is was 5 inches folded so i cut my card at 6 inches wide

and 1/2 the length of the folder which for mine it would be 5 inches (you can adjust this to suit you )

now i have a piece of paper that is 6 by 5 inches score your paper at 1/2 inch and 5 & 1/2 inch and then score the bottom at 4 & 1/2 inch

cut the squares that form at the score lines out I cut the bottom one at a bit of a angle so that they aren't seen

fold and you should have something that resembles a pocket

This is the pocket with the scored lines showing

you can glue it down as is or you can cut the pocket across the top at an angle I took my ruler and measured down 1 inch then i started at the top edge of the other corner and angled my ruler to the mark i made giving me a nice even angle that i simple cut off but you can angle it as much as you want .

this is the inside of my folder the dark blue is actually the spine showing both sides are really equal it just didn't scan all of it

you can follow this general idea and make them any size you want.

( or make it whatever size you want just remember to allow for a 1/4 inch spine

Decorate it and enjoy

going on a trip

2010-09-19T14:43:00.000-05:00

for this trip we are suspose to make an art doll to repersent us so the doll below is what i came up with she doesn't start out very pretty but I really like the finished doll

Humble beginnings

I started out with a base using masking tape a match box and some mesh wire as well as wire for the arms and legs so that they would be posable

What kind of face should she have decisions decisions

what color should her outfit be is she going to wear a skirt or pants what will her shirt look like

Meet Issy for this journey we are suspose to create a name that we are going to be traveling under and I am going to be traveling as Issabell dragon Issy for short . Issy is a fairy first but also has the ability to be perceived as a dragon when necessary . When I was making her i had a lot of choices to make when she was done she had a 2 tone purple skirt with a turquoise shell belt beautiful flowing green hari her shirt is made from a map and after seeing her standing there i decided she need one more thing

Wings

Going on a trip

2010-09-19T14:19:00.000-05:00

Starting in October I am going on a Blog Journey to a place called Imagi-Nation Its a year long blog adventure you can read more about it here http://artangelix.blogspot.com/

The creator of the Journey had created a great adventure for us and I am looking forward to being a part of it

Today I finished two projects for said journey

the first is my travel trunk . After all we have to have something to put all of our supplies in I Havn't decided it im going to add handles to each end or not

I use distressed ink on the sides and top of the of the box and club scrap paper for the sides the top is a soft blue upostery leather which takes distress ink very well

the trunk is about 18 inches long by 9 inches wide and is about 5 inches deep should be perfect to fit all of my travel supplies and any items i might find along the way

the inside of the box is lined with a blue velvet type of material very elegant and soft perfect for all kinds of treasures

close up of the lid and the lady who guards the trunk and all that resides inside

something old into something new

2010-09-12T19:35:00.000-05:00

I got this old box at a yard sale I think i paid a nickle for it
It was in really bad shape

I took it apart keeping the orginal hardware to use later striped it down to bare wood then went to work on it
for the outside i used a piece of paper that looked like old leather the picture doesn't do it justice but you can kind of get an idea of what it looks like.

For the inside I used some paper with writing and maps on it and I added some distressed ink to add a bit of age to the paper

I also used the old mirror that was inside of the original one it was in pretty bad shape and had most of the reflective stuff missing and was broken on one side
but i really liked the way it looked so decided to try to reuse it

I added a flower and a feather for the stem to cover up the broken edge of the mirror and since a lot of the reflective stuff was missing some of the words showed thru .

finally a new post

2010-08-22T13:33:00.000-05:00

its been awhile but i have finally started playing with ATCs again\
here is the first batch that i made last night they are made with various techniques including melted crayon and wax. alcohol inks , distressed inks and what ever else comes to mind as im playing.

language barrier

strong man

see my hat

talk among the stars

to much tv

passion

stairway to no-where

time to go

and the weather is

face

the written word

city

vampire kiss

Pennents redone in proper size

2010-03-19T15:29:00.000-05:00

I got some of my pennents done for this swap and thought I would share them here
There are all done using the distressed inks mixed with pearl x in the mini misters for the backgrounds.

I used stickers to create the words

This one is created with a face stamp pI sanded the area a bit to add some contrast , layered it on top of the background and added various embellishments

this one is pretty simple a dragon stamp and stickers

I did a bit of layering on this one and have since added some embellishments to it after I scanned it

I saved the best for last well I think so anyways this is my favorite one so far

I used some embrossing powder to help secure the chain to the card and the word is just a sticker from my collectionn

something new

2010-03-15T23:13:00.000-05:00

I played with Ranger reinkers and pearl ex
its so much fun playing with these products and learning all of the things that I can do with them.
These are for a pennent swap on the All things Tim swap.
I used a mask from his collection and the words are cut out with my silloutte.
used acrylic dabbers on a stamp for the dragonflies and the face is stamped with black soot distressed ink

I finally had the chance to play a bit tonight

2010-03-02T00:26:00.000-06:00

I used a couple of techniques from Tim Holtz blog
the journal cover is made using the technique found here

http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/04/april-technique.html

I used a tulip stamp and some orange and green paper
I like the way it came out I thinik it might have been better if I had use a different stamp for the embrossing powder. but im pretty happy with it

so far this is just a sheet of paper i made using this technique

http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/02/march-technique.html

I really like the way it came out I used a dragon fly stamp and my green dabber for the stamped image then I misted everything with two differen colors of the ink mixed with pearl ex in the mini misters one of them was tattered rose. can't remember what the other one was
then I stamped over the wole thiing with a word stamp and black ink
I have no idea what i am going to use the paper for yet but im sure it will be for a special project of some sort

Who Are you

2010-02-26T09:49:00.001-06:00

Im so ready for spring

this is a picture I took last year

love these flowers

who am I

I am me

the inside of you

that you are afraid to see

afraid to let out

for fear of what I will show you

of where I will take you

I am your dreams, your fears, your intermost thoughts

that you are afraid to know

to discover

to explore

I am the child that you left behind

i am the magic that you lost

I am me

the inside of you

lost and forgotten

I am the dragon in the clouds

the whistle in the wind

the ghost that speaks to you in the night

I am the whispers you hear when no one is there

I am the shadows in the dark

I am me

the inside of you

the voice that cannot be heard

but longs to speak

to tell you that what you seek

is inside of you

I am here

you have just forgotten how to see me

how to feel my presence

how to be me

I am your imaginery friend that you can no longer see

I am me

the inside of you

I am me

the inside of you

waiting, waiting to be rediscovered

I am here

you have to seek me

to dare let the child inside out to play

to dare to let your imagination fly and let the child like dreams be free once again

to discover all that there is to see

all that is blind to those who do not look

the magic that you seek is here

inside of me

I am me

lost inside of you

find me please

I am lonely

and you are truly lost

without me

I am me

waiting on you

Sunset over the lake near where I live

Fishing for food

this is one of my favorite birds

and I was lucky enough to get a picture of him

standing on the lake watching for dinner

Leon and I went for a drive a while back and seen this tree on the side of the road

It was so unique that I just had to snap a picture of it

it almost looks like there is water inside

a secret doorway to ??????

a home of a mystical creature ????

you decide

something different tonight

2010-02-10T22:32:00.000-06:00

My husband and his sleeping partners

I woke up around 3 am to get a drink and this is what i seen when i walked into the kitchen. I just had to snap his picture His name is no tail.

Perfect place for a nap Christmas is catching a few zzzzzzz's in the tub

My new computer chair has been taken over by the cats the white one is No Spot and the orange one is Christmas

flowers and hearts

2010-02-10T19:28:00.000-06:00

a couple of drawings i did last night using fine point sharpies
the flowers are my favorite but the heart flower is ok it kind of looks like an octopus or funky starfish

flower

2010-02-09T20:39:00.001-06:00

this is done with sharpies then when i finished it i rubbed coffee grounds all over it

I really like the way it came out.

some more new stuff

2010-02-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

Eye see you flowers you wouldn't want in yoru back yard

a couple of faces elf with leaves and split personality

a couple of fairies poping in to say hi

sometimes my art takes on a mind of its own i was drawing faces and this little guy popped in and said hello

I had no intention of drawing him and really don't know where he came from but i really like it when my muse takes over and draws what she wants to draw it always comes out so good.

face within

2010-01-27T22:36:00.001-06:00

This started out as a hand drawn image that i really didn't know what to do with I took it into cs4 and played with it a bit the red and blue lines kind of look like vains I really like the way it came out.

Magic carpet One World One Heart Giveway

2010-01-25T08:02:00.005-06:00

take a ride on the magic carpet and see what mystries lie around the next corner
so many things to do and blogs to see ,

and just like the rest around this corner you will find a give away

for my first give away im offering this book Journal Bliss Please note this is not a Journal but a book about journaling by Violette.

A second winner will receive a set of 4 greeting cards created from some of my drawings I will post when they are finished

I will add more prizes as more people join in the magic carpet adventure

please leave a comment under this post I'de love for you to tell me where your from or something special about your area but its not necessary to enter

the winner will be selected by a random number generator

you may enter only once and only if you have an active blog
you must have your entry in by midnight centeral time on the 14th of Feburary

I will announce winners on Feburary 15th

Have fun

more art

2010-01-21T23:58:00.000-06:00

I h ave been trying to draw something everyday . and have been scanning almost everyday as well.

all of these are hand drawn but I have scanned them and played with them a bit in photo shop mosty adding borders and using the brush tool but a few have filters added as well.

more art

2010-01-20T22:25:00.000-06:00

these drawings are a combination of colored pencils , pen , and then I played them in Photo shop cs 4
but all of them started out as a hand drawn image\

some new art

2010-01-10T21:36:00.002-06:00

I got out my prisims pencils and a sketch book and started doodling this evening.

I have not been doing to well at posting daily but i don't want to end up with photos that are of no interests to anyone but me . so while i will try to continue to post daily. my main goal is to post something that i hope will be interesting to others.

and if its my art work.or something i need to scan I don't always get in my art room to scan it . Its cold in there and I don't go in there very often in the winter .

this drawing are aprox 5 X 7

done with black ink, prism pencils and markers .

they are a bit corny and will probally change when /if something inspires me but for now its what i came up with

from top to bottom

Wild Hair

She belongs to the land

no title

queen bee

and

Leaves of me

snuggled in for the night

2010-01-07T08:11:00.002-06:00

I didn't get around to posting yesterday
DH and has feline buddy No Tail are settled in for the night
and its a good thing to since its blowing snow and below zero outside.

they look very warm and toasty . The only cat i have ever seen that wants to be covered up

GPS

2010-01-05T19:17:00.000-06:00

we either have one , been with someone who has one , have used one, or at the very least we know what they are.

what if art was that easy ,   you start with a blank piece of paper, canvas, card, wood or what ever your media choice is. Then you choose your desired end result .    from there you get step by step instructions of what to do to get to the end.

I don't know about you but most of the time I have an idea of what i want to make and a general idea of where to start but its the end that i have trouble with . My art almost never ends up the way i in vision it . usually im pleased with the end results , Usually but not always.; but its rarely exactly what i thought it would be when i started . Good art tends to take on a life of its own by becoming something totally different from what you thought it would be. just as good or better then you thought it would be but defiantly different

think of a project   from start to finish how would you enter it into a art gps what about the end would you what it to tell you exectly how to get there or is it more fun to leave it to chance. and just see what happens.

thats my choice , leave it to chance .    if you don't allow your art to choose its own path and just become what it wants to be . you end up fighting .a loosing battle and your art ends up looking like something off of an assembly line

try this

think of a project from start to finish envision what you think it should look like when its done discribe it in as much detail as you can.    do said project.    are you happy with it , did it come out the way you thought it would.   better , worse   . did you allow it to have a voice of its own or did you force it to follow you line of thinking by not allowing it to be whatever it wanted to be .

remember to allow your art to have a voice , you start with an idea but then let it go , follow your muse and let her play .

Leave the GPS for getting you from point A to B

I got a new book

2010-01-04T20:15:00.003-06:00

I ordered the book Caffine for the creative mind    excellent book by the way

anyway one of the activities in the book was to design your own creative swiss army knife of sorts

what creative supplies can you not do with out when your creating.

mine would have the following items    spray glue, tape runner, computer , silhouette cutter, pliers, scissors, wire, sponge, eye shadow applicators , broken glass, car detail tape,

I forgot to include my cd player , printer, and hot coffee gotta have that caffine :)

the idea of the book is to open up the creative side of your brain .

so what would be in your swiss pocket creative knife thingie    remember to include the unusual as well as everything else

wildlife road

2010-01-02T22:56:00.000-06:00

some animials in a wildlife refuge they live on a road called wildlife road

we found it quite by accident. Leon was making a delivery last week and went down the road to turn around. When he discovered all of the beautiful animals .so he took me down do see them . they are such a treat and to think they were just a few miles from where we live but we didnt even know they were there.

a cold new year's day in Missouri

2010-01-01T20:38:00.000-06:00

a couple of pictures taken along the roadside early this morning

its offically 2010 Heres wishing everyone a happy New Year

day 4 i missed yesterday so for today im posting twice

2009-12-31T19:25:00.000-06:00

for yesterday im doing a quick movie review   we watched 9 a Tim
Burton movie it was a rather dark movie , not bad but not a movie you would want to watch with kids . a bit depressing .    now we are going to watch GI Joe

the New year is up on us and im setting at home watching movies , Can't think of anything i'de rather be doing . spending the evneing with my family watching movies and enjoying each others company /

I guess im getting old cause i have absolutely no desire to be out amongst the crowds , bars, or people for that matter.    Just not much of a people person i guess

mini books

2009-12-29T22:07:00.000-06:00

day 3 of posting something every day these are some mini books i made using Tim Holtz's tiny attacher and some scraps of paper they actually have book pages in them and are just the right size for necklaces or earrinngs

Rainbow this is day two of 365 plus

2009-12-28T20:35:00.002-06:00

its kind of hard to see but there is a full rainbow in these picts , they were taken Wednesday afternoon just before it started raining It continued to rain all Day Thursday (Christmas Eve) and turned into ice and snow by around 8 pm we had a very white and cold Christmas day but it was all good , it was spent with family

Spirit dolls

2009-12-27T15:57:00.000-06:00

below is a pict of a couple of very simple art dolls i made from wire , fabric and yarn I call them spririt dolls

365 days of something

2009-12-27T12:26:00.000-06:00

I have decided to do 365 days . I doubt i will be posting a photo every day but my plan is to post something every day it may be a journal entry a thought , a piece of art work i made or maybe just a blog site that i like
im starting today with the hopes that i can keep it up

Journal cover

2009-12-14T08:29:00.003-06:00

This is a journal cover i made using a piece of copper that i textured with a hammeer then I covered it in alleens clear tacky glue and added a few drops of AI added the image and then let it dry overnight . then i added another layer of the glue over the whole thing making sure the image is covered I dropped a few more drops of the AI dabbed it with a makeup sponge
its a bit hard to see here but using this technique gives it a very dementional look
I have also used this on smooth non porous surfaces with great results .
it works best with two colors of AI any more than that makes it look muddy.

Art Project

2009-11-28T13:39:00.010-06:00

this is the boss she is making sure we do everything right

we are redoing our bathroom and had this huge mirror with no frame that we took out durnin the remodeling . We needed a smaller mirror to fit into the space we had after we installed the new vanity and cabinets

here are the results of my being creative first i broke the mirror by walking on it

we choose the piece on the right for our bathroom mirror

then i used a can of Kwik foam insulation to make a frame

let it dry and painted it a light gray here are the results I love the way this came out

here are a couple of more i made using some of the other pieces that i had left including the one we are using in our bathroom

my goal is to have little or no waste from this mirror im going to use the smaller pieces in some jewery im making and may use some of them for a mosic will have to play around with them and see what i can come up with.

right now this is what is left

this is a dresser we redid to put into the bathroom I like the way my shadow ended up in it :)

I need to put knobs on the top drawer

The Boss is still watching

Jacobs Ladder

2009-10-30T10:21:00.003-05:00

I used Birds of a feather paper from club scrap and some old coasters that i cut the ends off of to make a flat edge

I like the way the rounded ends make it look

I also created a round box for it

Halloween treat boxes

2009-10-28T23:32:00.002-05:00

some treat boxes I made tonight using Clubscrap paper

I seen some fun candy wraped to look like eyeballs the other day and I think thats what i will but in the boxes

halloween gift box

2009-10-27T22:22:00.004-05:00

A gift box I made with a halloween theme Its made with all clubscrap paper and the idea came from a scrap rap that i get everymonth from the club

The gift card holders work great for gift cards or Dentine gum or money or most anything small

the word secret is rubber stamped onto some cork that i had

Another gift box with butterflies and more of the stamped cork this one is also made with clubscrap paper

2009-10-18T22:39:00.001-05:00

one last card another halloween card

Inside of card

2009-10-18T22:35:00.003-05:00

and tri fold halloween card i had fun making theseinside of halloween card

since it is only 60 some days until Christmas I thought i should work on some cards I can't say these are a favorite but they were fun to make and didn't come out to bad

greeting cards

2009-10-18T22:30:00.005-05:00

first photo is the front of a halloween card and a thank you card that i made today I think the halloween card is my favorite of all of them

Inside of halloween and thankyou card

2009-10-18T22:14:00.002-05:00

some charms i made a while back using broken microscope slides and misc found objects

This chram is made from a small piece of microscope glass and a scrap leftover from a coaster that i used for another project

front of charm 1

charm 2 back

the one on the right is the front of charm 2 back of charm 1

My birthday surprise truck accident

2009-10-17T20:52:00.003-05:00

we went out yesterday to celebrate my birthday and on the way home we hit a deer we are mostly ok but are sore and bruised . this happend around 11:30 pm and we didn;t get home till 5 am . Our son took us to ER as he wanted to have us checke out

The truck is in pretty bad shape but our son thinks it can be fixed

not really a good way to end a birthday celebration but at least we are both ok and for that im very thankful for.

Gena's Doll

2009-10-03T10:12:00.002-05:00

she is so pretty in her peacock feathered dress, she is made from a napkin , an old book ,cd and other misc found objects

Recycled Art doll Swap Photo shoot Take 2

2009-05-07T21:45:00.006-05:00

This is lady luck created by Nancy
she is created from a wood block , beads, earring,cards,dice
she came in her own privite coach with a special joker on the front

This doll was made by Deborah
She is the queen of hearts made from a lotion bottle ,ribbon paper and wire,and a painbrush

My art doll revisited
i have to say i really didn't like the way the face came out on my doll and i wasn't sure if it would survive the trip so tonight i figured out what she really wanted to be

her name is flower queen
she lives in the forest and uses what man throws away to create everything that she might need her head is a large hair barette and her face is a pog covered in fun plastic and a clay face i added a flower petal and a leaf to her back so that she looked more finished her body is a plastic container from a bead kit , her hands are the lids from two bead tubes and her legs are the bead tubes her feet are from a bag of potpourri
This is another art doll of sorts that i made tonight i guess i was in a creative mood

she will not me going anywheres as im sure she would not survive the trip in one piece but
i do like the way she came out and since she fit the theme I decided to include her in the photo shoot
She is
Keeper of words
written on her hand are the words inspire,hope dream,believe , peace, love and knowledge
on her fingers are 3 protectors of the words and their true meaning and power

her base is made from an empty cd spindle the hand is one that is used to display jewerly her hair is a sea sponge and her face is a larger washer with a clay face on it
the hand is colored with alcohol ink and i used a brown sharpie to add the words
The base has a copper chain and some small screws for added interest
her base

Recycled Art doll Swap Photo shoot Take 1

2009-05-05T20:54:00.010-05:00

here is the first of several photo shoots of the art dolls for this swap

i will photo them as i get them in and have the time to post them

for this round we have 5 dolls

if they came with a name and or a story i will share a bit of it here

I plan to do a group shot of all of the dolls before i package them up to journey to their new homes.

This is Carmen she is a Flower Child
one of the original ones from the sixties yes she loves to gather flowers and take strolls in her garden
her bag is full of fun and colorful flowers
she is made from
Cloth scraps , stamps, magazines, mardi gras beads, metal nuts and bolts, aluminum foil, glass bevels, plastic orange juice bottle , dish scrubber brush, shreeded paper , foam scraps, beaded ornament, plastic flower scraps , silver jewerly and lots of love
made by Maria

this lovely pink pig is created from an old washcloth by Lani

this doll is made by Mrs Ryan MacMichael
she looks a bit like a Japanese girl in her ribbon dress
she is made from ribbon, fabric and a bottle

this Angel is created by Joyce im not sure what she is made of besides fabric of some sort

Note this doll has been revised see Flower Queen above

This is lopsided Issy she loves
the earth and tries to recycle and reuse everything that she can

Her head and feet
are made from old potpourri

her upper body is a empty plastic container her arms are a single shoe lace cut in half
the tree on her chest is a piece of fun plastic i was going to make a necklace from but it broke so i give it to Issy to use as she saw fit.

her hands are the ends of two small bead tubes , her legs are the bead tubes

her hair is a piece of plastic like string stuff that came off of a package

the bow in her hair is a broken earring , her eyes are felt pads, and her nose is a watermelon seed

ATC display stand that i made last night

2009-04-29T09:57:00.004-05:00

I used clubscrap paper that came with the kit and a dragon fly stencil i had sprayed it with glitter mist red, and added a handwritten word (dream ) and a face from my stash

the ATC is paper and stamp from Pure and simple clubstamp kit love the colors of this kit ribbon and washer from my stash and hand written words.

the three faces of me

2009-04-16T19:46:00.002-05:00

this is an alter art project that started with a twig that i found while walking in the yard i haded some needle felting fibers and polymer clay faces to come up with this piece.
which i am offering for donating to a silent auction to the kidney foundation

A card i made tonight

2009-02-09T21:55:00.001-06:00

2009-02-08T12:23:00.006-06:00

a note card set i made for a give away im doing on a group blog

its a set of 8 note cards and envies
done mostly in black gray and white
I used a photo of a rock face near our home
i printed in out on printer paper tore around the edges and glued in on to white card stock

that i distressed with Tim Holtz black distress ink

this is the front of the folder i made for the cards using club scrap kit cyprus papers and embellishments this was made with one 12 X 12 sheet of paper

a pict of the front and back opened up I just noticed the scan is a bit crooked but the ribbon goes across the bottom edge of the book much strighter than it looks here

last picts are of the inside of the card folder first without cards then with

craft room

2009-01-29T20:51:00.007-06:00

this is part of my workbench which also holds my computer

you can't see it in the pick but i have a small sink in this corner

part of my work area and my rubber stamps
we took dry wall corner strips and nailed them to the wall bent the ends under so there wasn't any sharp corners.

some more of my shelves and storage
the two cabinets have peg board on the doors for my tools and stuff

2009-01-19T20:03:00.013-06:00

THE WINNERS ARE

Amulet bag winners

"Stampgram"
Astrid Maclean

Winners of a set of two charms

Carol
thismuseofmine

One World one heart event starts today
I just discovered this even so it will be my first year doing it

from now to Feburary the 11 you can enter to win a giveaway on my blog
just post a Comment on This post only for a chance to win
be sure to click the button above for Lisa's site with over 200 sites that are giving away prizes durning this event

On Feburary the 12th I will draw 4 name from the comments below two people will win one of the amulet bags and two people will win two charms

the drawing will be open to anyone who leaves a comment
please be sure to leave me an e-mail address and if you have it a link to your blog so that I can check it out

good luck everyone and have fun

two amulet bags the one on the left is needle felted in purple and white with a newprint charm and face attached and white leather cord

the other one is sewn from black checked leather like material with a clay face and black leather cord
4 charms created from an old wooden place mat that i took apart

a couple of projects for clubscrap challenges

2009-01-07T23:00:00.003-06:00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Bucket List

Club scrap had a challenge to create a bucket list

so i decided to take one of the journals that i made from recycled paper and make the cover of it my bucket list
the pages of the journal are made from old dot matrix printer paper the covers are from an old priority mail box
and the front is done with scrap pieces of paper from the Cyprus kit
The list is attached with removable adhesive so I can change or add to it as I think of more things I can also add lists to the back and inside covers.
I plan to use the journal to create plans and goals to achieve the items on my list
and to add pictures of the things that are competed

This is the Butterfly I made tonight for The Butterfly Project

The Butterfly Project is an effort by the Holocaust Museum of Houston to commemorate the 1.5 million children who perished. They are collecting 1.5 million crafted butterflies for use in a display. You can find out more here: http://www.hmh.org/minisite/butterfly/index.html

recycled LP record holder ( ribbon rack)

2009-01-07T20:30:00.003-06:00

I made this ribbon rack from an old metal LP record holder.
I removed 3 wires left one removed 3 left one all the way across to give me a little more room for my ribbons
mounted it on my work bench and added my ribbons
really simple to make and it works great

clip it and Ribbon rack

2009-01-07T20:06:00.003-06:00

here are pictures of my version of the clip it embellishment and supply holder
I had seen several ideas for making these but none of them would work since i really don't have much counter space
so we took a curtain rod hung it below my shelf and i used the really cheap curtain hooks 1.99 per package of 12
for the clips I used the snap on name tag holders they were 12 in a package for 2.99 .
for some of my bigger items I found some plastic clothspins that had a hole in the handle I put a key ring thru the hole then hung them with the curtain hooks

I have close to a hundred clips on it the rod spans about 5 foot. i have a hook in the middle of it for support . its full but i can easily see and reach all of my supplies close up of the hooks with clothpens

close up of the name tag clips

2008-12-29T23:21:00.003-06:00

the pictures don't really do it justice but
I am really happy with the way this came
out

this pict shows the true color of the pen and box the best
this is a pen I made from a kit i received from Club Stamp

I have to say I love this club and the wonderful papers and projects

my second attempt at a needle felted dottee doll

2008-11-16T14:04:00.002-06:00

this was also for a swap the theme is Hell's Angle dottee or biker dottee

I think she looks more like a twisted Gypsy but i still
like the way she came out
she has a dud rag on her head but it
dosen't show up very well

so even bikers use gypsy's so maybe
shes a biker gypsy ok
thats what she is going to be a biker gypsy
Thats my story and im sticking with it....

needle felted dottee doll

2008-11-16T14:00:00.002-06:00

I needed to make a dottee doll for a swap and wanted
to try my hand at something a bit
different so i decided to needle felt
this one

she is made from various colors of needle felted elements
hair , tail , face and body
the only thing that is not needle felted is the hanger I wanted to make sure it was strong enough to last so i used string for the hanger

needle felted pin

2008-11-16T13:59:00.001-06:00

a pin made from leftover needle felting fibers all colors mixed in I glued on a face and on the top of the is a peacock feather but you can't see it very well in the photo

Felted bookmark

2008-11-16T13:56:00.002-06:00

I cut a shape from scrap felt and needle felted it in burgney then attached some green felt letters and some fibers on the top

a close up of the bags and pin

2008-11-08T23:11:00.002-06:00

needle felting projects

2008-11-08T23:07:00.003-06:00

three amulet bags and a pin I made using needle felting
I really like the way these turned out all three of the bags were felted onto a piece of felt for added strength the pin was just white roving with a bit of orange added in and I added a pin back and glued a polymer clay face

recycled autum art doll

2008-10-18T21:56:00.004-05:00

I finally got her done
I am really happy with the way she came out

I use some metal coils that were trimed from a metal gutter for her legs

her base is an old box that held some scrapbook brads
that came in a kit

the body is packaging from something can't remember what

the arms are plastic Wal mart and Dollar General bags braided and wrapped around some scrap wire

the head is an old milk cap

the hair is a couple of large scrapbook flowers that i had left from a project.

the paper thats inside her body is the backing from some copper leafing paper that i had used up and a torn quote from an old magazine headed for the recycle bin

her green skirt is the mask design that My Hubby had cut out for one of his projects that he had painted and removed I seen it laying on the trash bin when i was looking for parts for my doll so decided that it would make a lovely skirt.

her face is a polymer clay face that i molded its from my stash. that and her hair the only two things that aren't recycled

the brace i used to hold her up and give her a bit of added support is a metal piece that was removed from some damaged gutters and headed for the recycle bin

the image for from one image atc swap

2008-10-15T16:15:00.001-05:00

this is the image I choose for the from one image atc swap on Swap -Bot I love this artists work
and can't wait to see what everyone does with it