Back From Vegas

I am home safely and happy from Vegas.  That was an interesting trip!  HRH and I enjoyed some of the sights while there.  We rode the lift in the Eiffel Tower, drove down to Boulder to view the fantastic bridge they are building, now that was awe inspiring!  The classes were so much fun!  I made a crow sculpture, I am in the process of finishing a copper and glass journal, I painted.  I will be adding photos of those projects soon.  I took my skirt, but did not enter it in the fashion show.  The other entries were so "out there"  in the "fantastic" range.  Mine was much too tame! I took the challenges way too literal, on the tea pot and the skirt!   And the tea pot exhibit... so creative and fun.  Again, mine was really in the mild range in comparison.  Over all the trip was a great vacation.  The only down side... the walking, walking, walking, walking.  My feet... very unready for that!  Here are photos.

My Cheshire Cat Teapot

The bridge over Lake Meade... What an awesome project!

The cigarette boat HRH wanted to bring home, lol.

Runway Effort

Pockets highlighted with recycled dance leotard fabric.

In Vegas, at Art & Soul, they are having a pocket skirt fashion show, anyone who wants to make a skirt with pocket(s) can enter their creation into the show.  This is the little skirt I made.  It started with a pair of size 4 jeans.  Well, since size 4 is probably a size that is obsolete, at least for me, I have an idea the jeans were a yard sale acquisition.  I cut off the legs.  Then, I had this piece of flocked denim bought at yard sales, and some vintage braid with gold trim, which I added to the jeans.  I had this dance leotard and the finished edges of that became the pocket highlight embellishment.  And, while sorting through my stash of flashy fabrics, I found the silver lamae belt, the finishing touch!  I like the different textures and the sparkly stuff against the denim.  The flocking on the ruffle has a nice hand too.  I think I could still enhance this skirt with more embellishing but I have run out of time.  I just feel good to get it this far!  Now, I just have to work on my braveness.  Yes, the question is, will I be brave enough to enter it in the fashion show, once I get to Vegas.  I have to say, I would probably would not have attempted this if I had not been visiting the altered artwear group of late.

Silver lamae belt added

Cute and sassy, with flocked ruffle and vintage trim around the hem.  All the flash is appropriate for Vegas, don't you think.

Heart Thoughts

I have not been very active in visiting others blogs I guess because I have had other distractions.  But I remembered last year I was involved in a Valentines Day blog party http://swallowcliffs.blogspot.com/2009/02/birds-of-feather-blog-party-part-1.html

I have not been involved in many blog parties this whole winter.  But, I thought in honor of Valentines Day, I would post this darling little book I found at a yard sale sometime in the past year.  It just looks like it could have been someone's Valentines gift.  It is only about 4 X 5 in big, red fabric cover, and very vintage, I would say and in perfect condition.  I love it and thought you might like it too.  I love the graphic on it's cover, and that it is red.

The title page has no date so I have no clue when it was published.

The author writes about chickens and birds on this page.  I really have not read the book, I just keep it on a shelf with some other old red books I have collected, most unread, lol.  Enjoy the reading the first page by clicking on the page.

Latest EDM Drawings

I have not played as well as I should with my drawing lately.  But, I have done a couple of sketchy sketches.  I have tried several things with this sketch journal; colored pencils, pencils, pens, a bit of water color washing, and a glue restist.  When I made this journal specifically for EDM drawings, I put in a mixture of tinted drawing papers.  I am finding I don't like the tints unless I use colored pencils or pens.  I also included some vintage manilla papers.  I like the color but not the paper itself.  The paper is fragile and has a very profound "tooth" to it.  Colored pencils work well on it.  Non of the papers seem to work well for graphite pencil type drawings.   I found that the larger page size sometimes was obnoxious, so I gridded some of the pages so I have several drawings on one page.  This I like!  Water color washes work slightly on the paper.  Markers bleed through.  I put too many papers in the journal so feel obligated to keep trying to make the paper and media work somehow.   I am learning what I like and what I don't so as I move on to other journals, I will have a better selection.
Anyhow, here is today's post of scans.  I find that I kinda like journaling around the drawings since the drawings are just barely recognizable as sketches. lol

This is a collection of spices and a cookie jar on my counter.  I found the cookie jar at a yard sale and just had to have it because it caused me to remember the one my Mom had.  Hers was same off white with a little dutch boy in red on it.  It always had food treasures in it... cookies mostly.  It was one of the first places to visit when you got home from school.  My car girls always have to have a look in and a treat from mine now.

I found the sea shells and starfish and seahorse at a yard sale.  They remind me of a trip with both our kids and their kids we took to the Oregon coast a few years ago.  We all took our RVs and caravanned there and back.  We had a fun trip all together!

This is a little solar lamp the car girls brought me for Mother's Day last year.  It never worked but I treasure it as a memory.  The round globe is blue and it has a dragon fly on the other side of it.

Natalie

Are you playing with your glossy covered magazines with your favorite or maybe just an interesting photo on the front?  Here, I tried one more of Alma's glossy project.  I like how it looks too.  This is really an easy, fun, relaxing thing to do.  It just struck me today that these pieces remind me of the old "red work" quilts from I think the 30's or 40's.  These were blocks made on muslin and line embroideried with red floss.  Once they are put together, they make a rather pretty and interesting quilt top.

If you do one of these and post it on your blog, come back and leave a comment here with a link so we can all enjoy your "glossy project."

Wish-Another Glossy Project Effort

As far as I know, this is a photo of an un identified subject.  I find lately I am rather drawn to profiles.  So, when I was sorting through my magazines, this one caught my eye.  I followed Alma's instructions for the embroidery.  Then I gave some paint sticks a try.  They looked rather anemic and scribbly.  So, I wet down the parts I had scribbled on, and floated some acrylics into the wet areas.  Later, when I went back to see how dry it was, I was enchanted with the migration of color.  I like her.

Trades

Here are the trades I have been working on.  I made the books because I always wish I had a place to make a few notes.  These are eight paged.  Plenty of room for notes.  another use could be a weekly day planner, one page for each day of the week.  Too much fun.  And the ATCs are always tradable.  And of course the fairies... I really want to play more with the fairies, lol.  Some jewelry maybe, a ribbon scarf, buttons or beads....

Black?

I have shyed away from working on black.  I know some people who love to do paintings on a black canvas, they say it makes the colors "pop."  Recently, as I was looking for something else for some other reason, I found this 6 X 6 inch black cloth bound book cover left over from some other project.  LOL.
So, I decided to give black a try.  I did a few efforts of adding some background color, wanting to leave some of the black fabric of the book showing.  A couple of days ago, I decided it was time... I needed to finish this.  I gessoed in the face and arm parts, cut a dress out of paper, added the tree and bird collage part.  Painted the face and arms flesh color.  Found the hand on a piece of scrap, I thought it added a nice touch.  I also found a greeting card that had the bow tied on it, so I cut out the hat with bow in tact.  Some facial features, a bit of coloring of the edges, added the "hideaway" hat band and this is the result.  I think she looks rather matronly, and probably loves to hide away in her garden!

Alma's Glossy Project

If you scroll down on the right you will find a link to my friend and mentor, Alma Stoller.  She is a very talented fiber artist, among many of her creative talents.  She has a small tutorial she calls the Glossy Project.  She uses glossy magazines for inspiration for fiber creations!  Yes, I had to give this a try!  She has much more interesting glossy magazines than I do.  But my effort with Kate Winslow is not so bad.  I will be adding some beads and other embellishments, me thinks. This is really rather fun, and if you decide to try it, please give Alma the credit for the idea!

I made a magazine sized quilt from my playing around.  Hmmmm.... maybe I will go find my Elvis photos, lol.

Retreating

My friend Liz hosts a retreat in Colorado Springs.  It is beautiful there.  The venue for the retreat is unbelievably beautiful.  And really a great layout for retreat classes.  If you are interested in a mixed media and fiber type retreat, you will love this one.  Here is the link:  http://www.textilee volution. com/  The retreat is for the end of April and she is planning a fall one too!  I attended last year and made some awesome friends and learned so much too.  Liz herself is an awesome instructor, and there will be other most talenteds there too.   I went to the retreat to re acquaint myself to sewing.  All the new sewing machines and techniques they have now are awesome.  As a result of attending this retreat, you have been seeing a bit of my efforts with fibers.  Machine quilting, free motion sewing, art quilts, mixed media creations.  Oh, so much fun!

The picture is a colored pencil drawing.  I thought I might try it as a banner here.  I am not very good at adjusting photos for banner sizes, as you can see.  But, in looking at this drawing, I was thinking... would it be a good pattern for a fiber creation?