One Small Step

It's a great time to be a space geek. If you are not into space geekiness, you might want to skip this post. First, we have the 40th anniversary of the first moon landing today. I am one of the millions who remembers sitting in front of a black and white television watching those grainy pictures of the first step on the moon. Couldn't exactly make out what was on the screen, but it was exciting. There is a great web site that has been playing live audio from the Apollo 11 mission. It is real time, so there are long stretches of nothing but static and silence. It took three days to reach the moon. Try sitting in your bathtub for three days without moving around and see how you do! I would love to experience space travel, but they have to improve the mode of transportation a lot before that happens for me! Anyway, the site to listen in real time and see some great info is here.

There is currently an orbiter circling the moon, analyzing the surface. Some of the first pictures have focused on past moon landings to see if the lunar modules are still there (um...where else would they be?)... you can see those pictures here.

I have some of the 25th moonwalk anniversary stamps that have actually flow in space back in 1994. They flew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour, which coincidentally is at this very minute up in space again, this time docked to the International Space Station with a record number of people aboard the combined station/shuttle configuration. And now I see on the news that one of the space station toilets is stopped up. Doesn't that always happen when you have too much company that stays too long?

Any time there is a shuttle up, I will be watching. While I am busy on my work computer, I often have my home computer on the shuttle missions here. The shuttle goes through several day/night phases during a 24-hour period. But when they are in the daylight, I think there is nothing more beautiful than looking at the earth from space. It is my favorite real time screen saver!

Happy Moon Landing Anniversary!

All Lined Up

Sometimes I like things to be really orderly. When I'm deep in an art project, I work best with chaos and deadlines. Maybe I have a split personality. I like to think I'm just multifaceted.

I do have some kind of obsessive need to make charts and graphs, to line things up

Like the cigar labels above.....

I bought a box of art supplies at a yard sale for $5. Included in the box were a bunch of tubes of watercolor paint. I have plenty of watercolor paint. But not that brand. So I had to mix some up and see what it looked like. And if I'm testing it on hot press paper, might as well test it on cold press paper while I have everything all mixed up. Of course, it looks no different than all the other watercolors I have. But seeing colors all lined up was my Happy for the day.

Last year, I got a new crown punch. I sat and punched crowns from magazine ads. Shame to just throw them out. Might as well line them all up on a page!

This is a book I made a couple of years ago, with the signatures sewn on Tyvek strips. I call it the fuzzy book. That's because only After I made the book did I realize the black paper I used on the cover sheds like crazy, leaving black fuzz everywhere. Not only that, but I somehow got the sewing all wonky, and it is very crooked (not as obvious in the picture as it is in person). I'm not about to let a handmade book go to waste. I have been using it as a sample book for some of my paints (mostly Jacquard). If I have no time to play on anything else, just painting out color charts does it for me in a pinch!!

Go find your Happy for the day......

Paste-y Girls

What lurks in Connie's basement???

Lots of paste paper. What a fun morning at Connie Newbanks' house, where she hosted a paste paper play day. It's been a long time since I made paste paper, and I was happy to get a chance to replenish my stash! And of course it's even more fun when you get to make the mess at someone else's house!

This was a piece done with a large stencil under the paper (this might be Paula's, but I'm not sure).

This is one of Gaye's, done with a Coffee Break number stencil under the paper.

The rest are just random pieces of mine.

Thanks again for all the fun, Connie!!!

aRt sTuff

Art stuff... we need it, we have it, we need to organize it. Don't you love this sign? It can be lighted from the back.





It can be backed with colored vellum and be psychedelic!






Last year in August, after we attended Stampaway, Gaye and I took the long way home and hit part of the World's Longest Yard Sale. It starts in northern Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, and goes through Kentucky, Tennessee, and into Alabama--654 miles of hidden bargains and treasures. I never much liked yard sales. When I did go, I always seems to find a lot of baby clothes and hand made potholders. That was before I met a professional yard sale person! It really pays to follow one of these rare breeds around. They know without getting out of the car if it is worth stopping. They can spot something cool from a distance. And sometimes I think they have x-ray vision, and can see through a closed cardboard box under a table.


So, last year, one of the cool finds was the letters that spell "art". They look like they went on a lighted sign in their former life. And they just fit in the slotted picture holder I got a long time ago. The wooden base has a slot for pictures and has a second slot for specially made aluminum letters that slide in. The letters have since been discontinued, so don't ask!

My sign is perched atop a cabinet I bought a couple of years ago. The outside of the cabinet is an old orange crate. The drawers (35 in all) are wooden cheese boxes. I don't know how old it is, but when is the last time you bought cheese that came in a wooden box, not a cardboard box? I have slowly been adding different knobs. I have more knobs, but have an issue with finding the right screws. I am also slowly trying to figure out what to put in the drawers. I'm almost ready to call it the Coffee Break cabinet. The drawers are perfect for holding test tubes, lucite hands, people buttons, etc. It takes me forever, but I do have hopes of one day having everything where I want it, ready and useable!


The knob on the left is one of those "I wonder" things... "I wonder what it would look like if I put fabric on here with a rubber band..."

Enough art stuff... time for work stuff....



Addendum: I stand corrected. I just checked the web site of the Longest Yard Sale, and it actually starts in West Unity, Ohio. Their web site also says that HGTV is looking for people attending this year, to compete against each other in shopping. Game on! (just kidding)

This is for...

...well, he'll know...

Royal Order of the Nunnery Rose

Busy July

No time to post... I'm busy cleaning....

no, really... I'm cleaning and organizing.

I'm not making flowers.

Nope, not me.............

Restless Brain Syndrome

I don't know if there is such a thing as restless brain syndrome, but if there is, I have it. It's like restless leg syndrome, but in my head. Sometimes my mind is going in a hundred different directions wanting to do things, if only I had the time for all of it. It started with paper flowers. I first saw them on the Rag and Bone blog (listed on the side, see their April archives). I really wanted to make some but never got around to it. Then I saw on Ginny's blog that she made some, and it renewed my interest. (They look very cool with that map paper!) I finally did make some in the past couple of days, using pages from a book printed in German.

Then I noticed something. Remember the memo cubes I talked about? They looked like they had flower stems. If only I could plant my paper flowers on those memo cubes.

So, I played around with different ideas, and finally simply used black wire. I poked one end into the back of the flower, and used a smaller piece of wire to wrap the flower stem to the memo cube "stem". Then I thought the flower would look even better with a bead of some kind on the end of the wire that came out through the center of the flower. When I was rummaging for some beads, I came across the typewriter keys brads with prongs on the back. They are not even attached to the flowers, I just jabbed them into the center. The prongs went in between the folds of the paper, and everything held together.

Now I am resting my brain for awhile after growing a crop of paper flowers...

(The Rag & Bone blog has 3 links to instructions for making the flowers. I used the instructions at Folding Trees.)

Letters and Numbers and Symbols, Oh My...

I know that the economy is bad, but I still wish I had more stores near me to shop in! The year we got a Michael's, a Barnes and Noble, and a Pier One all around the same time, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. But now, a few years later, I wish I had more choices (without having to drive an hour). I have been irritated with Michael's since they no longer let you use their discount coupons on magazines. However, I do still go in there from time to time. Look what is on sale this week.... 40% off on these memo cubes and picture frames. Just had to share, since we all love numbers and letters so much!

(Less than $4)

(8 x 10 frame about $12)

(Tried to get better pictures, but between the glare on the glass and my camera battery dying, this is the best I can do!)

Divide and Conquer

When I started my journal in January, the last thing I was thinking about was making dividers for each month. But now I find myself looking forward to coming up with a new divider each month. I mean, it's not even July yet, and I just couldn't wait to make the July divider! This is so much fun and I highly recommend you challenge yourself to do the same! Here's how I used the mystery items from before...

This Too

I forgot one thing that goes with the other mystery items from the last post. (Notice how it even comes with its own question mark?)

And just because these are so sweet... look at the delicate blooms on my hostas, bent over from the rain shower this morning, with droplets of rain still on their little petals. I like hostas. Mainly because I plant them and that's it. Except that you need to divide them eventually, which is also a plus. Why anyone would buy a hosta plant is beyond me, since they are more than generous with their offspring!

My hostas have a large family tree. I think my sister first got some. She divided hers and gave some to my mom. Then my sister moved. After she got to her new place, my mom divided hers and gave some back to my sister. At some point, my mom also gave me some. I really didn't want to take them at first. You see, I do not have a green thumb. At all. But these pretty much take care of themselves. And they must like it here, because they have the pretty, stalky flowers every year.

In my next life, I'd like to be a better gardener....

In My Opinion...

You know the drill... you order something online or you use your store card somewhere, maybe you ordered a book from Amazon... then all of a sudden you are an expert reviewer. You must be, because they want you to review the "recently purchased item". Your opinion is So important to help others who are shopping for the same item. So, at the end of a long hot day, I check my email, and lo and behold, Staples wants me to review a recently purchased item. What was this special item? Is it something people are researching, pondering their next purchase, comparison shopping, narrowing down their choices? It was... a.. pack of multipurpose copy paper, just plain old paper to use in the printer, fax, and copier. Something I picked up in their local store one day (and tracked by the store card they scan, obviously). I'm thinking, you want me to review a Pack Of Paper? I guess my sarcastic side took over at that point. I did submit a review. It went something like this: "I cannot believe Staples is asking me to rate this product. It's paper. I needed paper. They had paper. It's just fine. Go buy some."

I submitted my review. Unfortunately, I cannot link you to it because it is not posted at their website. Imagine that!! There are, however, over 1000 (yes, one thousand) other reviews for this product. Is it just me, or is this a waste of internet space?? You gotta laugh.

Here's the tease for next time.... What do these







have in common? Stay tuned.....

Extra Sweets

Okay, one more father's day treat, then I am done. I'm posting this one because it is Just Too Cute. And let me add that I am NOT exactly a domestic, cooking type person, although in my heyday, I did make my own pasta, ravioli from scratch, and my own bread (withOUT a bread machine) all the time. I can really get into it when it is like making art!! But doing something like this is truly impressive. Look....

The burgers are brownies, cut with a round cookie cutter. The buns are cupcakes made with white cake mix. The toppings are colored icing. The french fries are sugar cookies, cut in strips before baking. AND, this creative genius who did this has instructions, Plus templates of the tray, paper and french fry bag available for download. You could substitute birthday greetings for the father's day greetings. Just too cool! It would take me a week to do this. I think I am passing out from a sugar high just looking at this!!

Sweets for Fathers Day

Happy Fathers Day to all the dads out there. I could not help but visit one of my favorite websites, CakeWrecks, and thought I'd share these gems for this special day.

#1

What shows your affection more than a giant cookie with the "D" on "Day" having fallen off, with what may or may not be a green tie (or possibly alien bacteria), with the green icing seeping into the cookie....

#2

Here is my personal favorite, Happy "Farther's" Day!

#3

This proves that it is never a good idea to argue with the person with the icing. If they think a name goes on there, and you insist they write "Father's Day Only"... well, that's what they will do!!

Why am I suddenly craving chocolate???

Take A Bow

All work and no play makes Pat a dull girl.

All work and no play makes Pat a dull girl.

All work and no play makes Pat a dull girl.

(Remember the movie The Shining?)

I know I haven't posted in a few days... work, work, work. No play. However, I have been checking out what Paula and Gaye have been doing. OH, MY... go to Paula's blog to see what they have been doing with mosaic collage and printing it on fabric. Too much fun.

Take a bow, Paula...

(sigh, they grow up so fast...hehehe)

(Canvas I made in 2007)

And I'll state the obvious.... nothing makes creativity explode more than artists getting together, sharing ideas, feeding off each other. It's the best!

This was looking down at me from the tree this morning...eeek... please don't jump on my head!!

Should I be worried that none of these animals seem afraid of me? Are the animals getting ready to take over the world? They don't run away, no matter how close I get. (Or maybe it's my "animal aura", eh, Jan??)

Have a great weekend!!!

Summer Reading

Crazy weather. It has rained a lot, and rained some more. It has technically been a little cooler than normal for June at times, but that is canceled out by the extremely high humidity. You can almost scoop it up with a cup, the air is so sticky and dripping with humidity.

So after work yesterday, I picked up my mail at the post office and was happy to have some reading material. Good excuse to just sit and not move around a lot! I had a new issue of Somerset Studio. I haven't read it yet, but glanced through it... oh, boy, one of dj pettitt's books is featured. I really do want to eat those up, they are so lucious. The article is actually about painting faces, so I can't wait to read that. She was here this time last year, and watching her work on a face and bringing it to life is an amazing experience.

I also got an order from Amazon, with the new book, Re-Bound.

I ordered it, but didn't expect it to have many new ideas for books, but I was wrong. I have never seen a book made from a hot water bottle! (Actually, I've never seen a hot water bottle with a patterned texture like that).

And a book from a bathroom rug?

A book with a cover of woven tickets (what did I do with that roll of tickets? I think I got rid of it....)

And a book from cabinet cards (notice the cabinet card on the spine too)....

Looks like a few summer projects here. Very nice instructions for each project. And a great gallery in the back of other submissions with more ideas.

But it made me wonder... what ever happened to the "recycled" book that I heard about back in January? I know Gaye submitted some things to it... (really, someone should do a book with just her amazing projects!) I did some searching, and the book will be published in November. It is on Amazon for preorder, but no "look inside" pages yet! I'll be watching for it.