The Fat Man is coming!

Christmas is on it's way and I am getting ready to make some canvas journals to give away...

Get a nail brush, paint and gesso'd canvas and paint your little heart out. I like using the nail brush to move the paint around and it's good for getting the paint in the canvas.

After it dried I put a coat of Golden Gloss Medium. I like a little gloss of the covers. It's not too much, it's just right. Hard part is waiting for the gloss to dry. Waiting, waiting and wait some more....

Sew a few signatures and add a button and a closer...then they will be ready for wrapping and giving them away.

Collage Class with Karen O'Brien

Ok, I am a fan of Karen's work and love the way she teaches! Mom and I took another class from Karen O'Brien today. We worked an Red Rosin paper that you can buy very cheap at Home Depot. Then we used gesso, painted, marked, mono printed, painted some more, collaged, stamped and everything else you can imagine. We learned about the different types of paints, translucent and heavy bodied, glues, gel mediums and more, learned some new things. This piece is about 17" x 24" large. It's all about layers. And layers and layers and layers....did I mention layers?? Yep, layer more and more...it takes on a life of it's own. You start off thinking what the outcome would be, but you end up with something completly different....wonderful class....thanks Karen! I look forward to the next class.

Good Seasons

Well, mom is at it again....she has created another great little book out of the cardboard from an Italian Salad Dressing box. She even took the time to look up words in Italian to put on the inside of her cover....very clever mom! Stay tuned, she has more ideas up her sleeve...

Dance my Angel

Thanks to Karen O'Brien and her classes, this is another altered photograph. I added a black background to the photo and sewed on a few rows of fiber to add a little interest. After stamping on the letters of the poem, I added a little gold thread around the edges...I am pleased with the outcome.

Forever in our Hearts

My partner recently lost her grandma, she was an adopted grandma for the past 40 years. We got a chance to visit her this past July and this was the last picture taken of the two of them. Miss Virginia was one the most real, kind, straight forward and loving women you will ever know. She passed away on her terms and in her sleep at the age of 83. She will be missed.

I hope she would be pleased with the page in my journal book that is just dedicated to her....love you little lady.

Fly any where...

Just finished this page this week and wanted to share it with you. Back in 2004, a few weeks after my divorce, I woke up with the sounds of Canadian Geese flying overhead. With my faithful dog, Sophie, by my side I started to cry, I knew from that day forward, without a shadow of a doubt, I would be fine. I could now start my life as I wanted to, as I saw fit, I could now reinvent myself. I love the spring and fall when the geese fly by my house honking. They remind me that life is short so love, laugh and be happy.

Smudge Pot

This was a find! Mom and I were on our way home when we saw smudge pots for sale, only $5.00...ok, we had to stop and see what they looked like. When we drove up to the orchard, there must have been 40 of those pots just sitting there. Some very burnt and sad, some were good enough to bring home. So we picked up a couple and sent them to be sand blasted. They looked so much better after the sand blasting. Now the question is what do we paint on it? We saw some of these pots painted a while ago at the Rogue Valley International Airport . Some were painted with a pear orchard theme. (Which is where these came out of) Thought I would go to the Internet and see how other people painted their pots. You know, I could only find just a few, just a hand full....ok, you know what this means....HELP! ;o) Guess I will have to figure out something fun. If you have any ideas, I will listen....