More Hand Carved Stamps!

I've made some more hand carved stamps as well as one using that Magic Foam.  You can see the details in the video.  I am definitely hooked on this hand carving thing.  The only thing delaying further creation is my lack of original ideas of things to carve!

Have an artful day!

Not my usual content... but very, very important!

I am not a particularly politically minded person and sometimes I feel a little guilty about that.  However, when I find a topic (typically animal rights related) that so moves me, I am willing to take a stand.  I hope the data in this post doesn't offend anyone who might be reading, but I am OK with it if it does.

Freedom of the Internet is at stake.  ACTA is a pending law which (like many) appears to make sense on the perimeter, but when you get to the middle, is very scary.  Please take a moment and watch the 2 videos above to learn more about this.  It is something that will threaten anything from generic drugs to using content others have made freely available, to the extent that you could be banned from the internet.  I know... it sounds so "sci-fi," doesn't it?  It looks like it has already passed in the US and is now in several European committees.  Someone smarter than me might understand this better. 

Here is a site you can go to and sign a petition in protest.

A couple of years ago, I started a blog about dating and attempted to use Adwords.  Well I must have done something wrong, because Google banned me.  I could never find out what I did or how to fix it or reach anyone to get any information.  This is so much worse.

Making Lists, Life Lists...and Telling Stories

I've been at home sick with a silly cold the past couple of days and so what better to do when I'm tired and feeling blechey (practice word flexibility) than surf the web, in between naps, that is.  Of course I'm not just surfing the web... I'm in my craft room/art studio and doing some art journaling, watching technique videos, tearing apart layers of decorative napkins and other things constructively crafty.  But you know how it goes when there is a computer at your fingertips and your mind is kind of fuzzy... and of course, surfing the web is kind of like a journey to far away places without a map - you never know where you will end up or what amazing things you'll run across!

So, anyway, as I was surfing, mostly various blogs... BTW, I want to say that people have some really cool stuff on their blogs - from art, quotes, pictures, to DIY projects, personal stories and of course, links... oh, the links!  It's like a treasure map, right?!  OK, I guess I'm not wrapping up that incomplete sentence (more flexibility, please).

And finally to the point of this post, a theme I noticed in my blog hopping was lists.  Teesha Moore (if you ever want to start art journaling, check out her videos; she is amazing and I must credit her with my first exposure into the world of the amazing art journal) talked about making a list of 49 things she is going to do this year (apparently, it was her 49th birthday).  Willow has LifeBook 2012 (while not really a list, it seems to fit here, which has been very tempting as soon as I can put together the funds.  Effy Wild has her Book of Days 2012 which I have been inconsistently following but really enjoying (I made my first altered book journal!)  She is offering this as a free course, folks!  Ali Edwards has this Project Life thing going on... I've tried to stay away cuz I'm already so distracted by everything I think I want to be doing, but, it was apparently not meant to be.

I've been hearing about To Do and Ta Da! lists (I think once you've completed a thing, it goes on the Ta Da! list).  I know I am more productive when I have a list, so I have come to the conclusion that the universe is trying to tell me something and I should pay attention.  And while we are talking about lists, The Organic Sister has a great list of 47 Ways to be better to yourself.

My goodness, I can ramble on, can't I?  Funny, sometimes I stare at my art journal page wondering what to write, maybe I should try digital art journaling if I write more with keys under my fingers.  OK, I'll put that on the list.  I did just download GIMP, a Photoshop like program that is free to download - another sign from the universe!!

I kind of liked Teesha's approach, the 49 things... but since I turned 56 a month or two ago, my list will be 56 things I want to keep or newly, do, see, learn or otherwise accomplish in the year 2012.  I will be adding as I go, the list is not yet complete but here ya go!

1. Blog weekly, at least
2. Take 3 (or more) online art classes in art journaling, drawing, etc.
3. Research buying a house
4. Finish my taxes
5. Work out consistently and continue to attend Weight Watchers meetings
6. Fit into a size 16 (or smaller) by year end (I've lost 4 sizes in the last couple of years, from a 28 to a 20)
7. Volunteer
8. Go out on at least 3 dates
9. Use my art journal as a spiritual practice (arting, writing, "what if")
10. Start a small book just for art journal prompts
11. Reorganize my craft room
12. Renew the purge of "stuff" in my apartment
13. Save money every month
14. Continue growing my Meetup group, meeting new people and developing friendships
15. Regularly journal on gratitude
16. Stay in better touch with friends in Chicago
17. Try one new recipe each month - put it on the calendar!
18. Start a list of recipes to try
19. Learn to use GIMP
20. Try my hand at digital art
21. Spend more time with family on Facetime or Skype

Wow, 56 is a really big number!  I might be happy with the list above...  Stay tuned!

I found the above quote on one of Crafty Dayeseye blogs; it is by Ben Okri.  In fact, she may get the credit for the graphic in which the quote appears.  She too has a list - A Stupendous Life List!

Here is another of Ben Okri's quotes that I really liked:  “Only those who truly love and who are truly strong can sustain their lives as a dream. You dwell in your own enchantment. Life throws stones at you, but your love and your dream change those stones into the flowers of discovery. Even if you lose, or are defeated by things, your triumph will always be exemplary. And if no one knows it, then there are places that do. People like you enrich the dreams of the worlds, and it is dreams that create history. People like you are unknowing transformers of things, protected by your own fairy-tale, by love.”

Another First - Hand Carved Stamp!

Check it out! It has everything to do with the material - I had tried one of those wood backed lino blocks with no success. The pic below was with the Speedball pink rubber - soft like butter! Really easy - give it a try.

For some help, see Lindsay's (The Frugal Crafter) video.  She inspired me to try it again.

Here's her blog address





- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Help! I Can't Throw Anything Away!

I think anyone who creates mixed media art can relate to my lament.  I'm thinking of starting a new 12-step group for craft collectors anonymous.  It is already challenging to keep any order in my craft room - it is such a shopping hobby, this paper crafting, mixed media stuff!

I found a bar of soap I had bought at a craft show - Pumpkin-Ginger Creme (yum!).  So I took it out of the box and put it in the bathroom.  I was going to throw away the box (or at least recycle it), but I noticed the cute little orange and black pumpkin label and thought, "hmmm, I could use that in something, right?"  So I took it to my studio to take off the label and put it somewhere I would hopefully find it before Halloween was over.  Well, then I noticed the box... one side had a cute little oval cut out, perfect for a frame, and the other side I could trim and use to back an ATC.  I threw the sides and tops to the box away before I could come up with any more ideas... Or did I, what's that on my craft table...  hmmm... inchies?

I'm doomed...

Great Poem!

I found this on Leanne's blog which is marvelous!  I was so inspired, I got chills.  Check it out.
What teachers make...

Some new stuff...

In my last post, I was moaning about not having a good white pen that would write well on acrylic paint.  Well, I found a great white pen - you guys probably have been using it for years - The Signo Uniball - yea!

Here's some new stuff and some stuff I just hadn't published yet.  Hope you enjoy it.

The Cage and The Frog

Spent most of the day working on some art journal pages.  Does anyone have a white pen they love that writes well on acrylics.  I had a heck of a time... the Glaze pen quit working and even my trick of heating it with the heat gun didn't fix it; the Inkssentials pen wouldn't cut it and I struggled with the paint pens.

The yellow showed up way brighter in the picture, not sure why.  Thanks for looking!

Online Shopping Heros and Villians

Greetings crafters and artists,

I wanted to comment about a few online stores I have shopped at least a couple of times and let you know my experiences  One is favorable and one is a warning.

The good news:  www.Alphastamps.com is amazing.  Their website is very friendly, they have a huge selection of product, they communicate every step of the way if you place an order with friendly and timely emails.  AND! if a product is not available at the time of your order or they can ship for less than they charged you, they process an almost immediate refund to your method of payment.  The product is as represented or better on their site.  It is such a pleasure to buy from them!

Www.Lindystampgang.com is another hero.  Tracey is a doll to do business with and their products are amazing.  Their sprays are similar to Glimmer Mists but the cool thing is she ships the product without the water, so it is less of an impact to the environment, lighter, therefore less expensive to ship.  You just add warm water when you receive it.  I'll post some pics of some of the stuff I've done with these soon, but there are tons of videos on youtube.com.  I highly recommend their stuff!

Now for the warning (the bad and the ugly):  Stay far away from Stuff4Scrapbooking.com!  I have ordered from this place twice and had bad experiences both times.  Had I recalled my original experience I wouldn't be going through the hassle I am with a recent order I placed.

I ordered via Amazon.com because they had the best price on Time Holtz' Distress Stains.  I ordered the whole set as well as some Color Wash and Tissue Tape.  My bad, I didn't pay attention to the shipping cost when accepting the order - I will never miss that again!  The order was about $60 and shipping was $66.48!  When I saw the charge in my bank account, I emailed the seller asking if there was some mistake.  She blamed it on the Amazon process and said she could refund $42.  I declined as that would still make shipping over $20 for a 5 lb or less order.  She told me she would cancel my order. 

She seemed nice enough and I believed her, so I placed the order on her individual website, prices were a bit higher, but still very reasonable.  She didn't cancel my first order and I received both orders on the same day.

I have asked her to send me a return label and credit my order the $122, but she has refused.  Her answer is for me to return the 2nd order (at my expense, making shipping on that order alone over $20) and I should just be happy paying $22 to ship the first order (she credited me $40 of the $66.48).  That makes my net shipping cost for a $60 order around $42!  That'll teach me not to shop at my local stamp store!

I have filed a claim with Amazon and my bank and will keep you posted.

Let me know about some of your good and bad online shopping experiences!

FLIGHT

My babies

This is from one Halloween when we lived in the Chicago suburbs.  We got a LOT of trick or treaters and Casper (on the right) thought all those people were coming to see him!  And after a couple of years, Scarlette (on the left) knew it was really her they were coming to see!

Catching up: Here's some more art I've done...

This is really just the detail from the previous post