Still More

 

items used: found papers, magazine pages (some painted) packing papers, re-cycled cardboard boxes, old buttons, hair elastic as closure, assorted fibers on binding.
for the covers I used packaging paper that came in something Husband ordered online. I layered it, added bits of leftover fabric and free motion stitched to hold it together and then sealed it with Collage Podge.
for some of the covers I just painted and stamped on the packaging paper before sealing it.

Now THIS is a Useful Site! LOL

My fairy name is Ember Rainbowshimmer
She brings good fortune.
She lives where fireflies mate and breed.
She is only seen when the first flowers begin to blossom.
She wears dresses that glow with fiery colours and has multicoloured wings like a butterfly.
Find out your fairy names with The Fairy Name Generator!

(Thank you Jo! This made my day! LOL)

What I’ve Been Up to Lately

My studio was getting a bit messy. So I decided to purge.

I have a lot of ‘found’ papers, out of date atlases, old sheet music, and leftover colored paper from long ago. 

Plus, for some reason, I’ve been saving old cardboard boxes.

At one time I was going to collage all this material into something. But as it often does, life has taken me on a different path.

So I’ve been making up-cycled journals.

I really like making the fiber bindings! They are just so ‘touchable’! 

Farts Are Funny

And if you don’t think so you’ve never had dinner at our house! LOL

I tried, I really did!

I tried to raise the boys with at least a modicum of respectability and manners. But it’s hard when you’re surrounded by all that testosterone!

And Husband was no help. He turned into a twelve year old as soon as dinnertime approached.

I would try and teach them the proper way to set the table, the correct utensils to use and when. To put the napkin on their laps.

They would always say, “Why do we need to know these things?”

And I would reply, “Because someday you might be invited to a State Dinner at the White House and you need to know how to act!”

It didn’t make much of an impression. They never were convinced that would ever really happen. (Someday though, I’m POSITIVE I’m going to be vindicated on this! LOL)

When they got older I tried appealing to their vanity and telling them, “Girls don’t like to hear burps and farts at the table, and someday you’re going to be invited to your girlfriend’s house for dinner and you’ll need to know how to act!”

I think they finally got it, but I have to say I really miss those dinners!

We ate and shared the day’s events and laughed until tears ran down our cheeks (and sometimes milk squirted out of noses, I’m ashamed to say)!

And to tell you the truth,  (just between you and me and the lamppost) farts ARE funny!

LOL

Just a Silly Close Up

Story Starters

When the boys were in elementary school, getting them to write was like pulling teeth.

They were required to keep a journal (no spelling or grammar counted) because the school thought this was a good way to encourage creative writing.

They mostly drew pictures of ninja warriors and Mutant Ninja Turtles. (What can I say? They were creatures of their times! LOL)

Then the teachers thought writing and illustrating their own original book and reading them to us on Parent’s Night would be a good incentive.

Not.

I asked them why it was so hard to write and they told me it was hard to think of anything to write about.

So I started them off with the first line of a story and told them to finish it. They were off and running!

That’s how I came to invent ‘Story Starters’.

I would write the beginning of a sentence on a piece of paper,

"Once upon a time…"

"It was a dark and stormy night…."

"A long, long, long time ago…."

"In a place far far away…"

"Call me Ishmael….."

"It was the best of times; it was the worst of times….."

(Adding the lines the little ones needed to write on) copy them, stack them up, add padding glue and viola!

 I gave them to the teachers to hand out to the kids as needed.

The teachers were happy, the kids were happy, I was happy. A win win situation all around.

(It never was the ‘get rich’ scheme I thought it might be, because apparently, it’s not an original idea! LOL)

Look What I Learned to Do!!!!!

My first animation! (annoying, isn't it?) LOL I'll have to work on this animation thing some more.Here is the tutorial I used.

Iced Coffee

My mother LOVED her coffee! She especially loved iced coffee. 

In the summer months she drank almost nothing but.

The trouble was most restaurants didn’t serve iced coffee. 

‘Back in the day’ it wasn’t like it is now. No Starbucks on every corner, no gourmet coffees, just a plain ‘ole cuppa Joe.

She didn’t understand why a restaurant WOULDN’T serve iced coffee. (Plus she was a rather determined person and wanted what she wanted! LOL)

One evening, while eating out, she decided the time had come for her to set the restaurant industry straight about the whole iced coffee conundrum.

The waitress came to the table and my mother asked for iced coffee.

The waitress said they didn’t serve iced coffee.

My mother said, “Do you have ice?”

“Yes” replied the waitress.

“Do you have coffee?” asked my mother.

“Yes” said the waitress.

My mother said, “Bring me a glass of ice and a cup of coffee, please."

When the waitress returned with the requested items my mother said to her, “Watch.”

She proceeded to pour the cup of coffee into the glass of ice.

My mother looked at the waitress triumphantly and said “There! See how easy it is? Now you serve iced coffee!”

She was a woman ahead of her time!

(I wonder if my mother was Starbucks inspiration? LOL)

Norma Desmond

I was surprised that not everyone ‘got’ my reference to Norma Desmond from the movie Sunset Blvd.

I thought it was iconic, but I guess not.

I’m such a fan of classic movies I just assume everyone is! LOL

So here is the clip from the movie. If you ever get a chance to watch it, I highly recommend it. It’s a good movie, in a creepy kind of way.

(You really need to know the whole plot line to get how disturbing this is!)

The Sketchbook Challenge—February

The Sketchbook Challenge theme for February is ‘close up’.

The first thing that popped into my head was Norma Desmond! LOL

So here is my version……

“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. DeMille.”