Give Me Color

I realized suddenly a couple of days ago that I have not picked up a paintbrush in ages.  I've been so busy sewing papers and hunting and gathering, I don't remember the last time I painted something.  Last week I happened upon some Golden's Fluid Acrylics at Michael's that were about 75% off the regular price, and I picked up a few bottles.  So.... as I am wont to do (and you regular readers know that when I say "wont", I'm serious), I made a chart.  I can't help it.  I am chart obsessed.  I got out all of my fluid acrylics and painted circles. 

Whew.  That felt good.  It satisfied my need for about 24 hours.

I needed more.  Thinking about Teesha's videos about making a book from a single sheet of paper, I remembered that when I watched the videos back in November, I had made a blank book and put it aside.  (Hers was 8x10, but I tore my single sheet of paper in half and made two 5x7 sections.)  I almost never, ever go to bright colors.  Time to change that.  I wanted the brightest pages I could get, and I didn't stop until I had painted all the white pages.  (The only one that is not fluid acrylics is the green.)

I have a plan for this, but hit a roadblock.  Somewhere, I have a folder of quotes about the Kentucky Derby.  They are great quotes, and I have saved them from way back.  Unfortunately, right now, only the Gods of the Hidden Objects know where that folder is.  Plan B - go on the internet and find quotes about the Derby.  What a disappointment that was.  The search is on, to solve the Case of the Missing Folder...

The Book

I've mentioned it before... the book I was making for Gaye.  The one I made for her birthday that I didn't finish.  I gave her the cover with cotton batting inside, then took it back.

I worked and worked and worked, and it started filling out. 

I kept finding more things and it got fatter and fatter.

It's still not finished, but I gave it to her anyway.  I needed a break from it!  I will eventually take it back and finish it, then take some decent pictures.  For now, here is a quick slide show to give you an idea of how the book turned out.  The design is inspired by the Remains of the Day class I took online.  The book is about a 17 year friendship.... See it here.  Admission free!  (Supply your own popcorn.)

Stormy Weather

It's been stormy in the south today.  No tornadoes in my yard thank goodness.  Lots of rain though, enough to make the little creek off in the distance overflow its banks.

But as they say, after the rain...

There was an intense double rainbow after the rain.  I could see from one end to the other.  Awesome.

She's a Jeenyus

I keep seeing more hats and shirts with the phrase "I'm a jeenyus" and it always makes me laugh.  Get it?  If you can't spell genius, I guess you're not one!

Anyway, I totally forgot the main reason I posted yesterday (see, I told you my mind jumps around too much).  Gaye really is a jeenyus.  Look how she hung up her punches. 

Do you see it?  She hung two curtain rods and hooked the punches on them!  I gotta get me some o' dem!!!

[P.S - I had to go back and edit this twice because I kept noticing I had misspelled jeenyus (as jennyus).  I'm not sure what category that puts me in, as I'm obviously not a genius or a jeenyus.]

A Walk Down the Red Carpet

Good news - I was off work today and got to make a trip to Gaye's, so I have something to blog about!  Thank you Ginny, for blogging about Gaye in my absence earlier this week!  Gaye really should get a blog because her life is such an adventure, but I get the feeling to her it is just her life and nothing special.  Plus she doesn't have the patience to sit down and write all the time! (I'm guessing... I'm not speaking For her.)

Let us pause in the kitchen for a moment.  I have never before asked to take a picture of someone's sink, but Gaye can't have just any old scrub brush in her sink... oh, no.  (Bed, Bath, & Beyond, she tells me).....

Now let us go downstairs to the newly re-painted and re-carpeted studio.  Gaye says she gets to walk down the red carpet every day!

I didn't take too many pictures, because it is still an ongoing process.  She has not yet moved everything back in or settled the right thing in the right place to make her happy.  Not much on the walls yet, but it's all getting there.  I do like the brightness, the openess and the color!  And I like the cozy chair off in the corner.

I also got to see the things Gaye got at Artiscape and also the things she brought me

(I have such great friends!) 

Love all the concentrated watercolor sprays.  Love the matrix boards.  Love the shoe tags.  Love, love the tape... The tape was what I was really, really wanting.  I have been trying to resist.  But it is so yummy. 

Ginny sells it at her Etsy shop. 

Meant to mention too that if you have not checked out the workshops Ginny is offering throughout the next few months in the Cleveland area, they are awesome.  If you make up a fantasy wish list of the artists you would like to take classes from, they are all right there.  If I were able to go this year, I think I would pick the weekend when Teesha and Tracy Moore are coming.  In case you haven't noticed, they just don't come east hardly at all (or if at all) anymore.  What a great opportunity! 

(If I got any of the links wrong, just see Ginny's link on the left.)

And since my mind jumps constantly from one thing to another, be sure and check Teesha's blog.  A few months ago, she had some great videos on how to make a journal.  Now she has some great ones on making fabric covers like hers.  I love to watch people work, and her journals are so amazing!

Go look here.

Okay, I have to go rest now.  Too much excitement for one day!

Look - a new post!

I know it's time to post something new when people start complaining about seeing the same old thing!  Mostly, I have nothing new to post.  And Gaye's been out of town teaching at Artiscape - and at least 50% of what I post is about Gaye anyway, so the well ran dry!  However, I will see her later this week, and I can be sure that when I say "Whadja bring me?  Whadja bring me?", she will have cool stuff for me!  I'll get to see the revamped studio too!

So, just to fill the empty space, did I mention I have my very own mini vintage paper cutter?  This was the gift I found in the Scooby-Doo tin on my birthday.  Love It!!

Smell-a-vision

The lilacs are in full bloom here.

I wish you could smell them... is heavenly to stand on my deck.

These poor lilacs were so battered by last year's ice storm, I am amazed they are still standing.

Have a great weekend!

Happy Tax Day

What it says...

What I see...

   blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah                                   

And so God created accountants.

Check List

Don't you love it when you can check something off your list that you keep meaning to get around to. 

Get this:

"Remove hard drive - check"

Yep, I did it - I did it - I did it.  Actually this was not even on my list really, but I was so proud of myself, especially considering I had never done anything like this before, that I made a list and put that on it just so I could cross it off!  Turns out it's not that hard.  This is an ancient computer tower that I planned to take to the annual April electronics recycling event here.  Except I wanted to remove the hard drive first. It only took about 15 minutes total, from taking out the first screw on the cover to putting the whole thing back again.  And that includes the time spent removing about 10 pounds of dust.  Eww.  Do all ancient computers have that much dust in them??  It's embarassing! 

It felt really good to get rid of some electronics.  I also took an old monitor the size of a Volkswagon beetle, as well as a little tv the size of a toaster.  They insist that this stuff gets recycled or reused, not trashed.

Other things on my list - find out the difference between contrails and chemtrails... and also why there are always grids and Xs over my house.  Except in this case when they couldn't decide What to do so they made a whole bunch of lines!  It kinda looks like that stick figure from the Blair Witch Project.  Eeek.

Also on my list - Fight the urge to start collecting clothing labels.  I was content to let that be Gaye's thing, not mine.  I think I have posted pictures of her purse here before (?) where she sewed all kinds of labels on her purse.  I have become the official Purse Wrangler.  When we go places and people start passing around her purse to look at and photograph, I'm in charge of keeping tabs on it!

However, I am getting weak... very weak.  There are some pretty cool labels around, once you start looking.  Now I go to the thrift stores and buy clothes just for the labels.  Check out that label with the face on it!  Hmmmm, this may be my next thing...

Shhhh....

I've been busy.

I see a slide show in my future.

This looks way better than it did in February when I gave it to Gaye for her birthday.  Back then, it was just a cover with quilt batting inside. 

I gave it to her, then took it back because it wasn't finished.  Yes, I know that was two months ago, but it will be worth the wait!!

Gift Wrapping 101

If you want to impress your friends, this is how you wrap gifts.  (Of course you have to find the coolest 3-inch tall metal letters Ever, a cute suitcase, and a cool tin....)

And these came from a woman whose studio is Totally torn apart at the moment.  I'm not worthy.....