Nana's Sugar Cookies at Christmas

Tom's grandmother made sugar cookies during Christmas. We stuck paper clips in them before baking, just as she did, so they can be hung on the Christmas tree. Weren't there some special traditional Christmas cookies that Candace, Shelley and Carrie used to make?

Frohe Weinachten 2011

What to do with old CDs? Slap a pretty Christmas card on, add a ribbon, trim around the CD and hang.

Happy Halloween! (meow)

Inspired by a Nate Berkus episode. A piece of black construction paper taped onto an unusually shaped long vase. Five tea lights on the bottom were too hot, so I'll have to hope that one or two will make it show up as well. I cut the silhouette from a pumpkin stencil.

The Chair

My scrapbook paper drawer just spilled out and onto this old black Ikea chair that I found at the Salvation army for $5. Really!

Eat Delicious Food

The mantra for this season. The idea of "healthy" eating is out the window. Lots of eggs and sausage, cookies and cupcakes, steak and potatoes (with lots of butter). I feel better than I've felt in years! (altered journal using tissue paper, magazine cut-outs, chip board, acrylic glaze, rubber stamps)

My Examiner.com job has ended

The school year and fall season have begun, and with it, commitments to family and school. and new art projects. So the writing season ends. Thank you to everyone who supported me by reading my articles.

Premium Quality

Virstee Howell, Jr. (my dad). Adorable, huh?

Sunday Play

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

All of those pizza boxes didn't go to waste this summer.

Used for party invitations.

Culinary Mandala

This was inspired after visiting the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles and seeing Jennifer Angus' creative displays of exotic insects. Just stamps and tombow markers in 15 minutes.

Paper Mosaics

I made this beautiful tray, covered with marbled and handmade papers and sealed with decoupage and polycrylic, using the technique from"Perefect Paper Mosaics" by Susan Seymour. It truly looks like ceramic tile, and was easy to make, though it took some time. An inexpensive project, the tray was bought from the thrift store ($3) and the paper I had in my collection. I only bought black poster board, black acrylic paint and polycrylic. I love easy, inexpensive projects! The book is fantastic.

Look at Susan's beautiful website. There is also an article on her research regarding empowerment of women in India and the use of "Life History Collage": http://www.papermosaic.net/

Examiner.com

I am so pleased to announce that I am writing articles for Examiner.com as the "Pasadena Arts and Crafts Examiner."

Examiner.com writers contribute articles in one of 25 areas of specialty. They are independent contractors who recieve "competitive pay based on page views, reader subscriptions, session length and advertisement interest".

It was initially an exercise in confidence. I felt good that I had successfully written and sent an article as part of the application process. Was I surpised to receive an acceptance email! My dream had come true: making money at what I love. It's a small step in the right direction.

See my articles at the link below. My goal is one article a week. You will find a subscribe button at the top or bottom of the article. Click on it, give your info, and anytime I publish, the article will go straight to your inbox.

http://www.examiner.com/hobbies-in-los-angeles

Craft and Folk Art Museum

Today I visited the CAFAM in Los Angeles to see two exhibits: Ann Weber: Love and Other Audacities, and Jennifer Angus: All Creatures Great and Small.

Ann creates sculptures using cardboard and a staple gun, rescuing her material from trash bins. Jennifer's exhibit featured insects and beeswax forms arranged both decoratively and symbolically. Both amazing!

See photographs of their work on the museum website: www.cafam.org. Photographs were not allowed in the gallery.

Plastic Bottle Flower

I stopped by a store called ZINNIA in South Pasadena on Mission on my way home from work. They have tons of amazing "thingies" to use for assemblage type art, and offer wonderful classes. Michael DeMeng is one artist who has offered a class there! His assemblage--wow!

Hanging from their ceiling were flowers made from plastic bottles that looked as if they had been spray painted. I found a blue bottle at home, and found, after I cut it, that it had 2 layers! So that made for a double layer of petals. If I had known, I could have cut them so that they alternated. Tom is still drinking that bottled water, so I have another try.

Paperback Book Sculpture

Remember making Christmas trees out of telephone books in girlscouts? Fold the pages, spraypaint it green and stick a star on top.

This is a variation, though I've seen more elaborate foldings than this. I had to get to taking care of the house and the rest of my life, but I found time to fold pages while waiting at orthodontic appointments and piano/voice lessons.

There is nothing like the feel of paper.

The Artist at 5 Years Old...

... on the back of a Christmas card.

( I don't know who "KeNney" is)

Curtains on a Budget #2

I couldn't help myself... I added another layer, because it seemed too thin; you could see through to the wall. And I liked the scraggly look. Maybe I should tie knots on the ends...

Curtains on a Budget

Karleen Daugherty (aka "Aunt Ice Cream") gave me her quilting scraps which I tore into 2 inch strips. I attached a second layer, using the rag rug method, by cutting a slit into the bottom of the first strip, pushing a second strip through, and then pulling the end of that second strip through another slit on the second strip's opposite end. Is that clear as mud?

I cannot claim the idea as my own. I saw something similar as a bed canopy at Anthropologie, one of my FAVORITE stores. I don't go to buy, but just to look at the new store displays which are so clever.

Cancer Art

I think it will be 2 years in September since I received the diagnosis of stage 0 breast cancer followed by lumpectomy and radiation (aka right breast tanning). I still had some thoughts about it that have been helpful to put on paper.

PUBLISHED!

It's here! I recieved the book yesterday in which my collage was published. It feels good to be recognized. Sorry for the strange blue tint. I had scanned and re-scanned this puppy too many times, and was done. You can find the book on Amazon. I'm on page 59.

Mermaid ATCs

...then Christine wanted to make her own mermaid ATC, so she invited her friend Sylvia Ray over and they made two stunning cards! Sylvia's is on the left, Christine's on the right.

ATC week

This week I got side tracked from assemblage and dove into ATC's (Artist Trading Cards). I had started years ago when I bought the book Artist Trading Card Workshop, and had it signed by the author, Bernie Berlin. I started 2 cards, but never completed even one. According to her book, although miniatrue works of art have been around for centuries, the modern day form was conceptualized in 1996 by m. vanci stirnemannn. In May 1997 there was a gallery show at a bookstore in Zurich, Switzerland. One could acquire a card from the gallery by trading one of your own. As with any art in process, these filled my thoughts while I was driving, working, eating, taking a walk. During those times I worked out ideas. Inspiration didn't always hit at a convenient time. It may have been bedtime on a weeknight, and I HAD to glue something new on, or search for an image I knew was SOMEWHERE. Finally, today, I finished a set. I'm pleased with them!

Metal, Rust and Pattern

Yes, you guessed it! It's a chicken feeder. It was calling out my name. It is metal, rusted and has a pattern. How could I pass it up? Think "repurposing". Or a cool wall sculpture.

Words of Life

In the midst of mental and physical pain I never imagined I would experience, all I could remember was The Lord's Prayer, which I recited over and over again. I'm fine now. But I vowed I would commit God's word to my memory so that it would be a part of me, to be with me in the best and worst of times. (The third is not scripture, but an interpretation, for those of you who thought you may have somehow overlooked this one in the Bible.)

Things to Make and Do

My favorite book as a child. I copied the pictures over and over. Sometimes I tried to make the crafts. Maybe I didn't yet know how to read. Or didn't like reading directions. Still don't. Don't you love the 1950 illustrations? Years later, my mother took me to the craft store, weekly it seemed, choosing something new to craft. I loved those times.

WELCOME

I'm just starting my blog. Not all of the categories/tabs you see in the right margin will have photographs posted, but just go through them all and check. I'll be adding more photographs over time.