Getting Inspiration

I haven't posted in awhile, recovering from being away for 10 days. I haven't painted in weekssss because of that. When I am losing my creative juices and need inspiration I look to my painting books and images on the internet. I bought a new book by the Artist Renee Mullins. She has a great simple style, that I think I will like. For me its not even about the patterns it's about getting inspiration from the color and style. It's all about the vision of seeing what I want to paint. The painting is the easy part once I have the vision. SO if you are like me and need some inspiration this week, take out an art book and browse for awhile. :)

IZEAFEST

Here I am at IZEAFEST...a blogger Confgerence. Hopefully my blog will take off once I learn something...hahahaha Already received a free t-shirt and crocs...nice..............

On the Road

I haven't been posting because I am on the Road. 10 Days in Florida. Family reunion, then visiting with friends, ending with a Blogging conference....I'm hoping I learn something. Keep you posted.

Painting with a purpose

I was talking to my good friend about doing what you love with a purpose. I spoke of this some when I was talking about my Chinese Auction. What good is it to have wonderful painted/craft items if they are not being enjoyed? Then they are just cluttering my home and the universe. They are not bringing joy to anyone. So lets try and bring some joy today people and "pass it forward" as they say. Take something you have and bless someone with it...no strings or money attached. We reap what we sow....sow generously and receive generously. :)

In the meantime I am setting my focus on what painting with a purpose can mean in a bigger sense. :)

Ambidextrous Artist

Please Go watch this video linked to the blog post title....It is amazing. Portraits are hard enough, this artist does 2 at once and they are excellent. Make sure you wait through the ad, and click on fullscreen...enjoy

Chalkboard paint follow=up

OK...I posted a link to a photo instead of the instructions...this is the correct link...check it out...its awesome

http://raisingolives.com/2009/03/homemade-chalkboard-paint-tutorial/

DIY Chalkboard and magnetic furniture and walls.

You have to check out this link...this Mom has posted an awesome tutorial on making your own chalkboard paint and different ideas on how to use it. You can purchase commercial chalkboard paint but it is way expensive. You can now get a few fun colors, but when you make your own you could paint a whole room any color, if you wanted. The link shows a table, but she has other pages for her chalkboard and Magnetic wall in her living room....totally awesome especially if you have kids.

copy and paste this

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHygBWf6CRatSlGPLzgu5QGvw9puE2B5-o88yBVhDAyu9wXJJSpirgOuGF13iLqGldNgQL9xFUWatzo0c5H9myQW-eaDYQ-rhGbD8xXkQRg2boKVrN_5uJy3iQlShIieN0YAyj9xHzvD4/s1600-h/017.JPG

Chinese Auction Follow - Up

Well the Ladies came last Night and we had alot of fun...Everyone was blessed and some were Chinese Auction newbies. I realized I didn't clarify in my earlier post the items I was putting up were clutter to me because they weren't being used and appreciated, but they were all (26 of them) hand painted items from my vast collection. Senior Saint Helen won both the 2 big pieces...you go Helen, I'm not sure where she will fit them in her little apartment but enjoy. We had alot of laughs as some people coveted certain items and tried to steer others from putting there tickets in...haha...(Lizzy znd Tori...the younger generation of woman). We continued the night with watching Amazing Grace, a wonderful movie.....the story of William Wilberforce who felt the burden from God to work tirelessly for the abolition of Slavery in the British Empire.

Chinese Auction

OK...I'll admit I have NOOO idea why it is called a Chinese Auction. But if you have never been to one, basically rather than bidding on things, you buy tickets and put them in drawings for whatever items you want. Well tonight I am having a "Ladies Night Out" with the ladies from my church, and I decided to have a mini Chinese Auction with the proceeds going to our Woman's ministry. I saw this as a way to bless people as well as get rid of some on my clutter. I put a few bigger pieces in, as well alot of small pieces. Amazingly I am finally parting with some of the pieces I painted as a student rather than as a teacher. They've been sitting around for 10 years, it's time they were enjoyed.

I really feel Art is meant to be enjoyed....Its not really art when its not.....my 17 year old neighbor Victoria helped me set it up last night...hopefully everyone will be blessed :)

Christmas is Coming!!

I know, I know, It's not even Labor Day....but it's coming. We are sliding into the end of the year/ oops end of summer and before you know it we will be on the fast track to Christmas. So why do I leave all my Christmas Crafting until the last minute. Crazy I guess. So I am telling myself , not this year!! Get started!!

Summer fun for Kids

Just thought I'd share some ideas to have fun with your children during the "Dog days" of August. The Humidity is so thick here in NY today when I woke up I could see my windows were wet on the outside.

Bubblepalooza making your own Bubbles
Making it yourself is great if your child has dye sensitivities or allergies

This is a trial and error recipe. Your water, humidity, etc can effect how the bubbles turn out where you live. Start with this:

1/2c Joy or Dawn Dish Liquid
1 c water
1T light Karo Syrup (thickener-optional/can try sugar too)
1 drop food coloring - optional

Put the water in your container first. Add corn syrup and stir. Add Dish liquid and stir gently. Always put the water in first and stir gently or you will end up with way too many bubbles.

If it doesn't seem to work well with your local water, try using distilled water.
If the bubbles burst too easily- too much water
If they fall too easy (heavy) - too little water

Use a wand you have, or create one with a pipe cleaner. HAVE FUN!!

The BEST Play Dough

This from Craft Gossip blog, I was going to Post the link, But there website and my blog wouldn't play nice. I chose it because its the only one I've seen that doesn't have an odd ingredient you probably don't have in your kitchen, and no real cooking, just heating water. Imagine burning a glob of flour and water and getting that out of your saucepan...Not

Ingredients:
1/4 cup salt
1 1/4 cup flour (amount of flour may vary slightly depending on altitude)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 T vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
food coloring

Combine the flour and salt in a mixing bowl. Set aside

Boil water in microwave. Remove from microwave once it has started to boil (I realize you guys aren’t idiots, I just wanted to be clear). Add baking soda, vegetable oil and food coloring to water. I am generous with the food coloring. I like the colors to be dark. Let the water cool down enough that you can touch it. If you don’t let it cool, your play dough will end up grainy-believe me.

Add the water mixture to the flour and salt combination. Stir/knead adding more flour as needed until it isn’t sticking to your hands anymore. Let the dough cool completely. Play time!

Store in Tupperware or be eco friendly and store in old cottage cheese/sour cream containers. Lasts longer in refrigerator.

Note: I'm not sure how much this recipe makes, but if you wanted to make more than one color, other recipes have suggested waiting until the end and kneading it in. Pat the play dough flat , put drops of food coloring in the middle, fold it over so coloring doesn't ooze allover and begin kneading.

WHAT TO DO!

We all go through periods where we need to spend less and use what we have. We talk alot about reduce, recycle, reuse, yet it can start in out own home. I mentioned in mt previous post.."Paint what you have"...I have so much stuff I am always inspired by , I buy it yet I don't always get to it. I need to go shopping and get inspired again in my own craft room.

I was talking to a friend and young mom the other day (2oo minutes long distance to be exact, Lauren from 4babyandmom.blogspot.com) and we were talking about cutting back when finances get tight. I told her my #1 rule over the years when I feel I've been spending too much is just stay out of the stores. If you are not in them, you will not spend $$. Gas Station, Food Store, that's it. Is Walmart really cheaper for paper towels and toilet paper when I walk in to spend $20 and walk out having spent $100? Well Janie at Janiegettingoutofdebt blog has the same rule and came up with this list of ideas that I thought I would share. Ideas for recreation rather than shopping.

1. Taking a walk outside.

2. Checking a book out from the library.

3. Reading a book outside on a beautiful day.

4. Reading my favorite blogs.

5. Taking pictures of family and friends.

6. Taking a nice long bath and pretending I am at an elegant spa.

7. Playing with my dog outside.

8. Snuggling with my boyfriend (now husband) or a stuffed animal.

9. Talking to my best friend.

10. Writing an email or letter to keep in touch with a friend or family member.

11. Listen to music on my ipod.

12. Bake cookies, brownies, anything sweet!

13. Volunteer in the community and at church.

14. Pray.

15. Go to church.

16. Make a list of everything I am grateful for.

17. Blow bubbles outside.

18. Swing on a swing set at a playground.

19. Plant flowers in a garden.

20. Dream.

21. Do something artistic.

22. Keep a daily journal of thoughts and experiences.

23. Use my imagination.

24. Watch TV or videos on YouTube.

25. Watch America's Funniest Home Videos.

26. Take a walk along the beach or a lake.

27. Go for a run outside.

28. Google funny words and see what is returned from the search engine.

29. Play with Google Earth and dream of vacations that I could go on around the world.

30. Read anything about travel. I just love to travel the world and see new things but I had to do it from my computer back then!

Showing off your Crafts and Art work...

I am just getting back to normal life (if life is ever normal..hahaha) since saying goodbye to a houseguest. A friend of mine sent me an awesome virtual scrapbook page of her and her children she created on Scrapblog.com. Free too, isn't that great. Besides the obvious scrapbooking applications I thought this could be a great way to showcase your projects, for presentation or if you want to sell them.

Along the same vein, I was thinking about other tools I have used to show my friends and family my photos and projects.

Picturetrail.com I have had an account with them for years. I don't use it for my personal photos but for my artwork and professional porfolio. It is free to start, but if you want more space it is $20 a year. Start with the free get your feet wet and see if you like it. I like the ability to arrange my photos in albums, you can play around with the page formatting a little, people can look at things in a slide show, you can add a paypal button if you want to sell things, and its your page, not belonging to a photo printer website where they might delete if you don't buy something. You can direct people directly to the page or link to it through any other website you have.

Lastly I will mention wesites like Shutterfly.com and Snapfish.com For those of you who like the idea of scrapbooking, but don't see it happening in the near future...trying creating your own book. If you sign up for coupons you will get discounts. Last September I received a coupon for a free book from Shutterfly.com. FREE?? I am biting the bait. I had pictures from a recent Oregon trip just waiting to be put together. This was an 8x8 book, I put 1,2,or 3 pics on each page, 20 pages, wrote a dialog like a travel journal...and it came out AWESOME!! I Love, love, love it. I recommend it to families to do once a year, organize your life, and it is so easy to pull out and show people, and FUN! If you try it you won't be sorry, well worth it even if it costs you something.

too much stuff!! Paint what you have !!

ahhh..what to do with too much stuff. It clutters my house as well as my mind. I was prepping for 2 classes, one Monday, one Tuesday...was on a roll began reorganizing my Art room on wednesday. And while knee deep in my project forgot an important meeting...I mean totally forgot. How embarrassing is it to say. "I forgot"

Have come to the realization I need to put myself on a surface buying moratorium until I just paint what I have.. I also need to get rid of some of the craft stuff i don't use. I get inspired to string the occasional bead project, but you never do use all those beads..you get the idea.

So a little everyday, so I can get to painting. :)

Great Projects for Teens

I taught a class at my local library yesterday. I am teaching five classes over the summer, 3 down two to go. The project yesterday was creating a masterpiece based on a famous artist. Last year we did Van Gogh and starry night, this year we did Piet Mondrain. An abstract artist who visualized his subject he had in his brain down to geometric shapes and primary color. I gave them artistic liscense to use more color choices but they were limited to 4.

http://www.storyboardtoys.com/gallery/Piets-House-Large.jpg

copy and paste this for a view of Mondrain's work. In the end very fun.

How right brained are you??

Here's a little quiz for those of you that can't resist a good quiz. Mine came out 75% right brained. Not a surprise. how about you?

http://painting.about.com/library/quiz/blquiz-rightbrain2.htm

Wordle

I am not sure if this will work, i am still learning,
check out and have some fun at www.wordle.net

Mod Podge Rocks: Mod Podge formula guide. You've been waiting for this fairy tale.

I finally understand Mod Podge...Not that I use it all the time, but I do use it more in the winter when I can't go outside to safely spray...I do want to preserve my lungs....


Mod Podge Rocks: Mod Podge formula guide. You've been waiting for this fairy tale.

The good, The bad and the Ugly

The good: I have Central AC in my house including my art room!!
the Bad: There is a smell of PVC glue that is overwhelming
The Ugly: I am forced out of my house until it goes away

I finally took the plunge and had my 45 year old heating system redone. So as long as I was doing that I also had Central Air put in...it was no easy project. 3 men..4 full days. The GREAT...GREAT...GREAT part of this is will now have AC in my art room...
Prior to this the scenerio was this: summer , only run in there to get supplies and throw things back in, because it is too damn hot, Fall, finally there is a cool day, I clean up and straigten up, Winter/Christmas painting madness comes, a mess again, clean in spring just in time for summer.

Time to get organized!!

Arsty Crafty Queen, What does it mean?

I am the queen of projects, queen of gadgets....I am the "go-to" person for trivia and research. I am not sure what that makes me. We all know what a "Type A" personality is, but what about the rest of us. I'm the type with organized clutter....don't touch it or I won't be able find anything.

When you are the queen of trivia and research and knowledge you get alot of phone calls from your friends asking you questions and opinions on things...It's very funny. I've had "how do you cook a hotdog ...boil the water first, then add the hot dog, or place the hotdog in the water and then bring to a boil?" That was from an about to be married couple, discovering differences in how things were done in their households. They've been married seven years so I guess they survived the small stuff. :) I also gotten questions about car repair which I've had to respond..."I don't know something on everything." But I'm good at directing people on if I don't know the answer.

Artsy Crafty Queen and a Whole lot more.

being creative

Being creative is a great thing, yet sometimes I only have time to think about being creative instead of doing it. I am envisioning the next great painting and not doing it. I hoping blogging will give me an outlet to share my creativity beyond my 4 walls. I never feel its real unless its shared.