More Altered Book Pages and a Shout-Out

These are a couple more pages from the altered book project. I love the quote on the right but don't know who to attribute it to. "Not Everyone can be a hero because someone has to sit on the curb and clap as they go by". Love that. We all have a role.
I also want to give a shout-out to my sweet MIL, Lisa. She has just recently opened an Etsy shop called MagicWithYarns. Her Etsy Mini is over on the left side of my blog. She owned a yarn shop in historic downtown Jackson CA for about 30 years, until her retirement over 10 years ago. She is listing her one of a kind knitted items plus lots of new old stock from her store. I am SO proud of the effort she has made to get her Etsy shop set up. If you are an Etsian please stop by her shop and welcome her with a heart.

Magical "Smart" Snow

We are having a "snow event" here in Portland, or so they say. Here in Portland an impending snow event invokes full-on panic and chaos. The schools close, everyone cleans out the grocery stores, gases up the car and hunkers down.
Mostly it turned out to be special, magical, smart snow. I say magical because of how it looked when I got up this morning. There was no wind so it settled gently and covered everything with fluffy white frosting. I love the way snow soaks up all the sound and makes the world so cozy and quiet! I say smart because, for the most part it knew to stay on the un-paved areas.
Last night I mentioned the forecasted chaos to Annette over at So Many Memories and she wished me a snow day so I could stay home from work and build a snowman.
Staying home wasn't in the cards but I found this little guy out in the parking lot at work mid-morning. A co-worker did what they could with what there was and those are words I live by so had to share him. He even has tiny little pebble eyes. If only there had been a teeny little carrot laying around!

You Just Never Can Have Too Many Buttons

Well, not for ME anyway! Look what was waiting for me when I got home from work Friday night. {insert visual of me ripping open package} Button love!
Naturally I had to sit right down and start poking through them. Then I started sorting them into categories. Then I realized I forgot to take a picture for you all to see. Well that would never do so dumped them all back in the box, took the picture then got to sort them all a second time. Thanks to all of YOU I had twice the fun! I'm so glad I blog.

Tiny Tripod, The Poppy and Life Turned Short and Wide

I picked up a tiny little table-top tripod while I was out shopping for a new monitor last weekend so I was just finally trying it out tonight and took a few pictures with it sitting right on top of my desk. Cutest little thing, only about 9" tall!
Don't EVEN get me started on the monitor part of that shopping trip. Apparently the technology decision-makers of the world decided that lots of people use their computers to watch movies and play games and THEY like a wide screen so why don't we just make EVERYBODY use a wide screen. Even though the rest of life, like books and documents and the Internet for crying out loud, is portrait orientated. Grrr... So my ancient old tube monitor is gone and now I scroll for my health. Grrr. Oh, sorry, I wasn't going to get started.
So this is just a little of the junk sitting on my desk. I think you have seen the jewelry box where I store the pins and needles I don't collect before. But this time I didn't have to move it over to my work table and zoom. So many times I run into situations where the big tripod and the zoom just won't "reach" the way I want. New options!

This is a sweet little metal birdbath my DIL gave me. When I come home with special little jewelry treasures I don't want to forget about they go into the birdbath so they stay in front of my eyes. Trouble is, they look so pretty just sitting there that I hate to use them. Sheesh.

I mentioned that Somerset returned my submission for the Poppy call. If you subscribe or purchased the January/February issue of Somerset Studio, their picure is a LOT better - no big surprise there. Kind of a hoochie-koochie girl. I'm not sure what I will do with her now that she's home. I thought about putting her in my Etsy store but those pictures are landscape orientated, too, and I'm not quite sure how I could show the whole thing without turning the picture sideways. It's like a sideways technology plot to eliminate portrait orientation. Oops, there I went again. She might have to sit in the closet for a while.

Happy Heart Day Everyone!

You Can't Hit a Home Run Every Time

This is a little experiment I did to see if I could craft something that would have a more masculine vibe to it. I sent it off to GreenCraft magazine but they didn't see the same vision I did. I suppose they don't have many male readers and the female ones don't necessarily see any need to craft something for the boys when you can just give them a spare saucer to keep their change in and buy them a couple packs of Slim Jims to show your love. But. Well.
I thought it would be something different. And apparently they did, too, but not in a good way - LOL!

So anyway, I got the idea when we were out camping. Some cans got tossed in the fire and I liked the patina it gave them. Somehow they were kind of elevated and didn't just look like empty tin cans anymore.

When I got home I started to experiment. I have one of those can openers that cuts through the rim so it leaves a rounded edge on both pieces so the tops fit back on like lids. I used a felted sweater to cover the bottom and the inside of the bottom on each one as well as the top on two of them. I covered the outside with stamps and cigar labels. I drilled a hole in the center of each top so I could attach a handle. Two of the handles are vintage Bakelite knobs (love those!) and the little crown came off I don't remember what.

I still like this concept and we all know I love making something out of nothing so I' sure I will continue to experiment with this one. Maybe some music paper or vintage wallpaper and millinery flowers next time!

Estate Sale Bits and Pieces

Sometimes the picking is big and other times the picking is one little bit and piece at a time. These are the treasures from the the two sales I hit last weekend.
LOVE these appliques and rhinestone studded millinery leaves. They remind me of the things the talented Lori Oles uses in her work. These are going to be SO fun to build Inspiration Kits around for my Etsy store - assuming I can bear to part with them. Maybe I better hold on to just a few - LOL!

I did not get the bowls at the sales. I was just using them while I was sorting the beads. That bowl on the right is filled with all kinds of plastic beads that will go into the Granddaughter's bead box. The one on the left is filled with big wooden beads that made me think of colorful bowl of fruit.

I think this was a woman by my own heart. A crafter and seamstress who accumulated such pretty things. It always amazes me how you get a "sense" of a woman from what she collects and leaves behind. I wonder what people will think about MY stash someday - LOL! I can hear it now... I wonder what she was planning to do with all these straight pins and scrabble tile holders....

My Mosaic Phase

I got a new computer at work last week. In preparation I did a little "housekeeping" and cleaned out some personal pictures that had ended up there. I ran across these pictures from what I call "my mosaic phase". I think it was 2003. I showed you a little bit of a broken china mosaic in this post last summer. I made the two tables and a flower pot before I got over it.
The inspiration for this table began simply enough. I found the cast iron pedestal at the Salvation Army store. It had a wood top that was covered with stained white Formica but I loved the base. Now THIS would make a patio table the wind couldn't knock over! I thought I would use use a variety of bright colored broken wall tiles in a simple random pattern. Well, who knew you have to buy the tiles in full cases - that's no fun! I started searching the Internet and found a company that sells a huge variety of these tiny tiles in small quantities. Game on!

Did I say random pattern? Did I say small quantities? In my typical fashion, I complicated it and came up with this not-so-random pattern of my own design. A little ambitious for a first time mosaic but that's the way I roll. I ran out of tiles and had to re-order twice. After about two months and an estimated 10,000 individually nipped and grouted one.at.a.time it was finished at long last. Hmm. Now that I think about it, maybe this table is the reason I got over my mosaic phase! I am happy to report it has held up every bit as well as I thought it would and we have been using it pretty much every day for 8 years now. Sometimes covered with snow, always covered with junk and NEVER tipped over by the wind.

I am hooking up with "Show and Tell Friday" over at My Romantic Home so be sure and stop over and check out some great blogs!

What You Need To Invent and Another Fun New Website To Tell You About

This is another page from my altered book collection of quotes and I love these words. Judging by the stash in my art room I have apparently taken them to heart! Well, maybe I need to work on the imagination part just a little. Honestly, I really don't know what I am ever going to do with some of this stuff but I'll keep it around just in case the urge to invent strikes and I need it.
Speaking of collecting things... Amy over at IntoVintage has launched a new website called Vintage Market Guide. She is listing vintage flea markets, shows and sales all across the country. Please pop over and check it out. I have also added a button link on my sidebar. She is looking for input so if you know of an even in your area please let her know. I am excited because she lives right here in the Pacific Northwest so I'm looking forward to finding out more about what is right in my own backyard!

The Little Journal is Ready to Leave the Nest and a Cool New Website to Tell You About

My little Swiss Family Robinson Travel Journal is finished and ready to jump into a Priority Mail box, jet to California and skid in with it's binder rings smoking as it slides under the February 15 deadline. Whew. Wish it well as it leaves the nest and makes it's way in the world.
Next up is a great new website that launched today. Well, really I don't think it officially launches until tomorrow but Ricë Freeman-Zachery is an editor and gave a sneak peek with a link on her blog today. It is called CreateMixedMedia and it looks like it will be loaded with fun and great information. They are even offering a free ebook download with 6 projects as part of the launch so be sure and check it out!

Around Here

It's been busy around here. I have been working on a little book for another Somerset Studio submission. In typical fashion I didn't get my mojo muse going until the deadline was looming. That means pages and papers and text and glue have been flying every which-away.
I worked a little different that I normally do this time. I usually go through my stash and choose the things I want to use and put the rest away. I have read some blogs lately where they posted about their messy work tables so this time I started pulling out anything and everything I thought I MIGHT use and piling it all on the table. I am searching for the way to make my work less stiff and more random. Naturally, I didn't end up using everything I pulled out but it was inspiring to glance around and audition different bits and pieces. Let me just say there will definitely be more messes in this art room!

This was the little book as of Saturday. I have since added more pages and started assembling it. It is a travel journal for their "Classics" call. I don't know if they consider The Swiss Family Robinson classic literature but I do. If I can squeeze in the time before I have to put it in the mail I will snap a picture of the finished book.

On a related note, on Friday I received back the piece they used in the January issue. I haven't even unwrapped it yet but I will post a picture of that as well, for those of you who don't follow the magazine. I showed part of it in this post but I wasn't sure if it was okay to publish it before it was submitted. After re-reading their guidelines I think it is okay when it is on your own blog.

One more P.S. I blogged about some vintage magazine in this post and I finally got around to putting them over in my Etsy store tonight. Gotta love those vintage advertisements!

The Never Finished Altered Book Project

When I discovered altered art four or five years ago, altered books were the thing that captured my attention. I have always loved books. Reading them. Touching them. Smelling them. I could go on about why that is but maybe I'll save that for another post.
For now I will say that I set out to make my own altered book. Probably a little ambitious for someone new to it. Making art is harder than it looks you know - LOL! I collect quotes and figured an altered book would be a good place for my collection and I would certainly have no lack of material. Several years later it still is not finished but I do add to it on a pretty regular basis. I guess you could call it an art journal of sorts since I try all different kinds of techniques and there is no rhyme or reason to how it is arranged.
I thought it might be fun to show some pages here on my blog from time to time and share my quotes in the process.

This is the cover. I decorated that part first which I have since learned is the wrong way to go about it. Kind of like eating dessert first! I chose the book because I liked the purple cover, the title and the "feel" of the pages. And the fact that it was in the dollar book bin didn't hurt!

It is decorated with tissue paper, a metal "thing" of unknown purpose and various beads, charms and tassels and fringe.

I remove pages as I add to the paint and collage but, as you can see, it has become quite swollen with altering. It doesn't splay quite so much when it is laying down and there is still plenty of room to add more of my favorite words. In no particular order.