Being Oblivious

Did you ever wish you could just put a basket on your head and ignore everything and everyone around you?

I don't know who this little girl is, but she was a cutie-pie I ran into at the Indianapolis Rubber Stamp & Paper Arts Festival this past weekend.  She was zooming around, could not be bothered to stop for a picture or even a hello.  I have often felt like doing the exact same thing!

It seems like every March, I post the same thing after the first weekend - Gaye and I took a road trip to Indianapolis, saw friends, bought a few things, stopped at the antique mall on the way home, yada yada yada.  Same thing this year again, but it is always a fun early spring day trip for both of us.  It's not so much about the show, it's about the day together.

I got this wonderful heart stencil from Coffee Break Design:

Had to have this rubber stamp of the little girl with a shotgun (or BB gun?).  Don't ask me why.  I just needed it!

We had been there only about ten minutes when my name was called as a door prize winner.  I wasn't familiar with the vendor where I could spend my $10 gift certificate, but I did manage to find a blank calendar stamp and a "pull here" stamp.  Thank you DRS Designs.

The main thing on my shopping list was some of Ranger's Colorwash Sprays.  I was hesitant.  They say the new spray bottles spray much better than the old ones.  The old ones spit more than they spray.  I took a chance and got a few bottles.  Time will tell.  I'm looking forward to playing with them.

I didn't take many pictures at all during the course of the day.  However, at the antique mall I did take a picture of this old desk.  The drawers were all at an angle.  Imagine that.  Very neatly done... but why?  I guess it would be easier when sitting at the desk to have the things in the drawer angled towards you.  Or maybe it was made by a drunken carpenter.  Who lives on a hillside.

Oh, I did take a picture of a book Gaye was working on and brought to show me.  Love the whimsical covers!  She comes up with the coolest things!

See you next year, Indianapolis.... Same time, same place.

I Heart Things

My unofficial word for this year is Action.  And I have followed through with it quite bit so far (lots of things in progress that have not made it here yet though).

One of my "action" items that I have wanted to do many times but never got around to was to participate in Michelle Ward's monthly challenge.  February's challenge (No. 60) is to make a journal page(s) of things you love.  Michelle is great about providing downloads to use, if you choose.

I started my journal spread by making a big heart background with Inktense pencils.  Then I added some things that came to mind that I love.

As I worked, I thought of lots of other things I love, so I may do some more notes and scribbles on these pages before I'm done.

Thanks, Michelle, for years of great ideas and downloads to keep us all busy.  You have inspired many ideas, even though this is my first time to participate Officially.

You can see Michelle's challenges here, at the Green Pepper Press Street Team.

Stencil On a Stick

Like most places, the weather here has been crazy.  It was almost 70 degrees yesterday, but might snow tonight.  But I know spring is coming.  I know that because the stores have the Easter candy out, as well as the gardening stuff.  To me that means one thing - time to look for cheap plastic things to use for stencils.

This time, I found flyswatters at the dollar store.  Makes for a handy stencil-on-a-stick!  They had other shapes, but I liked this one best. Fun times ahead!

This Way

My house isn't very big.  I don't think I've ever gotten lost in my house.
Nevertheless, I think it's important to know where I am at all times.

 I don't have a sign for the ladies room.  My friend Gaye does though!

Speaking of Gaye, she has started a Pinterest site (see it here). 

There are two things I have avidly avoided, Facebook and Pinterest.  I have no self control, and I know if I start with either one, I will be addicted.  But I do love seeing what other people are putting on Pinterest.  I once did a search for "calligraphy" on Pinterest and I was absorbed for hours!

A Little Sun Goes a Long Way

You know how you feel when there are way too many dark and gloomy days of winter, and then one day there is a burst of sunshine that feels so good that you don't want it to go away?  Apparently birds feel that way too.

I happened to look outside yesterday, and there was a dove on the deck railing.  Normally, I get concerned when I see a bird that has its eyes closed and does not move.  But this one honestly seemed to be napping in the sun, and enjoying every minute of it.

I went to get my camera, but expected the bird to be gone when I got back.  Instead, she was joined by a buddy, and they did not seem to mind that I kept taking pictures of them through the window.

They preened, they fluffed, they strutted.  They looked at me looking at them.  But mostly, they just seemed to enjoy the warmth of the sun.  Ditto that, little birdies!

Treats

I'll bet you are thinking these cupcakes don't look very appetizing, as cupcakes go.  Kind of on the flat side, I'll admit.

Here's the thing... It was my friend Gaye's birthday. We had already postponed a get-together because she had been sick. So when we finally had a new date set up, I thought maybe I'd make a chocolate cake for her. Or, I thought to myself, maybe some cupcakes. I went to the kitchen to see if I had cupcake liners. But, since I'm a maker of Things more than I am a maker of Food, I thought those cupcake liners would be perfect for giving her the tapes I had bought for her. 

So that's how she received part of her gift. The tapes were wrapped in black tissue paper. Cardboard circles on the top were decorated with dimensional fabric paint in a squeeze bottle. (And I didn't end up making the cake, because I only had one ingredient required to add to the cake mix - water.  That is fairly typical in my kitchen when I attempt to make anything.)

As usual, we had a fun time on our visit.  I got to play with her micro engraving pen, making scribbles and words on metal.  It's a good thing she didn't turn her back, because I might have had to steal that dandy little tool.

And she always has different projects to awe and inspire me.  I love, love, love this little leather and metal book.  It is tiny, yet packs a powerful punch.

Yummy ideas running all through my head now!

Slow and Steady

When making something complicated, it always pays to make a prototype.

Mystery object closed.

 Mystery object open.

Final product.

I have a friend who just had a big birthday.  For some reason, we have this thing where I HAVE to use my Dave the Dog stamp every year to make her something.  Neither of us has a dog, but we do have this thing with Dave the Dog.

This year, her greeting wishes her "Forty Daves" and "Forty Knights" of fun!  Not that the number forty has any meaning here.  None whatsoever....

By the way, the tag heart in my last post came from Better Homes and Gardens magazine's website.  I had gone there looking for another technique they had, making your own scratch-off formula from metallic paint and dishwashing soap.  Haven't tried it yet, but it sounds like fun!

Scratch-off card here.
Tag heart here.

One Heart

Did you know you can make a heart from a couple of tags?  I did cut off the ends of the tags to get just the right size.

FWB

If you looked at my entries this month, you might think I've been lazy.  But in fact, I've been quite busy.  I'm working on Top Secret FWB projects. In civilian language, that stands for Friends with Birthdays.  So, of course, I can't show anything here. All I can reveal is that one of them is getting this.  I can't say more.  I know you understand.

And don't even think about trying to peek in my windows to see what I'm doing.  I have lookouts posted around the perimeter of my compound.

How To Make A List

I really admire people who make a list of goals to accomplish, or a list of dreams to fulfill in the course of a new year.  I don't know if it's a lack of commitment on my part or a fear of failure, but I just don't like to tie myself down to completing a list (although, I admit, when I do make a list, it feels great when I mark things off it.)

If your word for the year is Action, you kinda do need a list.  In my head, I have lots of lists.  And I found a system that, so far this year, is working for me.
1.  Do something on the list in your head.
2.  When it is finished, write it on the list.
3.  Check it off as completed.

No fail.

Here are a couple more pages in my physics journal for this year.  I seem to be boxing things in on the pages.  Hope that is a sign I will be more organized this year.

This journal has some pages that fold out.  I have started a map on one of them.  Because I'm going places, don't ya know.

Nothing up my Sleeve

Check out these little pockets.  Great place for mad money, business cards, moo cards, or other little treasures. 

Each one is made from the cuff of a long-sleeve shirt.  The wider the cuff, the more room inside.  If my Fabric-Tac glue had not dried up, I think I'd rather run a thin line of glue as close to the edge as possible rather than sewing.  That would give even more room inside.

Heres' where I saw the idea.  I am envisioning men everywhere putting on their favorite long sleeve shirt, only to find it is now a short sleeve shirt!

More Blog Posts in January

I'm glad that was not my new year's resolution, to have more blog posts in January.  And if it was, I sure am glad I didn't say it out loud.  Then I'd feel guilty that the month is half over and I haven't been posting much.

I'm also glad I'm not a perfectionist.  I make too many mistakes to ever survive being a perfectionist.  I've been admiring my Physics Journal all month.  But I recently noticed that I put the back cover on upside down.  Now, that's no big deal because there is nothing on the back cover.  However, the raw edge where I cut the cover off the physics book is on the outside, instead of the inside where it should be. 

I debated putting some washi tape over the edge to cover it up, but then I spied some fancy schmancy art paper I bought a long time ago. I cut it to size and used it as an endpaper to cover the inside back cover, but made it wide enough to wrap around the cover to the outside. I love it! And if I had not made a mistake, that might never have happened.

I added a colophon of sorts on the last page of the journal. I stamped the date it was made and added notes about materials I used. I drew boxes around the stamped date and used Inktense watercolor pencils to color them in. I used a black pencil for the border, and left some of it untouched with water so that I still had the rough lines around each box.

Another hot mess I made was when I used acrylic paint with my stencils on the first page (where you'll see I also used words from the original Physics Made Simple title page). The paint seeped under the stencil and I was not a happy camper at all when I saw how sloppy it looked. I used a black marker and white poster paint pen to even out the edges of the design. I am still playing with this page, but I like it better now. And again, that was not the plan I had in mind at all, but imperfection led to something different than what I intended. 

If I can just apply this go-with-the-flow attitude to all of life's problems, it's going to be a good year!

Learning Physics

If you wanted to, you could learn "simple" physics for one dollar.

I mean, who doesn't want to know more about molecules, magnetic fields, and the Brownian Movement. I do question the term "simple physics".  And the self-taught part - is that possible, to teach yourself physics?

 On the other hand, you can cut off the covers and make your own journal for the new year.  I used scraps of scrapbook paper for signature wrappers and painted Tyvek for tapes.

I used white Canson paper for the pages, because I have a lot of it. I wasn't sure if I would like it for mixed media, so I made a sample sheet using a lot of different paints and tools. I was pleased.

And the physics pages I removed have a section on color theory!  Really?  I might like to study physics after all.

Happy New Year

The new year is going great so far!  Seems like only yesterday it was 2011.  Oh, wait.... it was.

The first day of the year is warm for this time of year, but very windy.  The sun peeked through the clouds early this morning.

Looking back on last year, well, I'm too lazy to re-cap at length.  But if doing things that make you happy are a sign of success, then last year was a success for me.  I learn more and more how much I love making books.  Here is what last year looks like (in my eyes). 

(I have already learned something new this year - how to make a photo mosaic!  Yay, me!)

Happy new year to all!  Wishing you all much success and happiness in the new year.  Thank you so much for visiting me here.