Category : Blog

1718 posts

201610/02201610/02201610/02

A second look: Friendship

Today I’d like to share a second look at an assemblage I created a couple years ago. This is one of those pieces that I keep thinking I’m going to give as a gift or list in my etsy store but I just can’t seem to get myself to do it. In fact, it’s currently sitting right beside me on my desk.

Perhaps I need to make another similar piece so I can let go of this one.

Take a look….

6/4/2014

I spent some time on YouTube last week….likely sent there from Pinterest. (See why I try and stay away from the screens…I get lost…sidetracked…and waste oodles of time.) I often like watching “fast forwards” of journal pages, collage and painting. I’m most interested in seeing how people go from blank page to competed project. Not the particular products they use. Not to emulate what they did. Just the process. The stumbles. The bad choices of color or image and how they kept going and turned it into something amazing…or not.

I often search out new unique ideas in an effort to continue to use the stacks of book pages I’ve torn from my journals and salvaged books. Since I’d been using some paper flowers on my cards and other projects recently, I thought I should potentially make them from book pages myself. I found a rolled rose tutorial. The technique is very well explained yet I immediately deviated a bit from what she said. I’m not big on following the rules and directions. I prefer to make it up as I go along. 20140603_5026 This first one is made mostly like the tutorial states…so it’s a tightly rolled flower.

These are more my own style and lay much flatter…more useful in a variety of projects.

But the ones used in the project below are my first blossoms. I just had to see how some spray mists would look on them. Gorgeous! Now what…Well…I had picked up a bunch of embroidery hoops at a garage sale a couple weeks ago to add to my ever growing collection. I have a thing for circles. I can’t seem to pass them up. This hoop happened to roll onto my work surface and land on some glimmer mist splattered paper. The idea I had seen on YouTube popped into my head. An embroidery hoop as a frame. Of course, that video used 3 hoops and was a wall hanging scrapbook layout. Like I said…I use videos as inspiration…not copy.It’s a little bit vintage… a little bit shabby chic…and a whole lotta me. ;)

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Thanks for joining me today for Second on the 2nd.

Art | Blog | Creativity

assemblage, collage, embroidery hoop, friendship, mixed-media, paper flowers, Second on the 2nd

7 Comments

halleday

201609/27201609/27201609/27

T Tuesday: Ryder Cup edition

Welcome to T stands for Tuesday! This week is an odd for for me… My kids have barely started school and now they are off for a week due to the Ryder Cup which is being held smack in the middle of our school district. When I first heard about this about 2 years ago I was like….

Now that I know more about it I realize that having this event really is going to disrupt things and having school in the midst of an estimated 250,000 additional people isn’t really going to work. Leaving town, like so many families we know, just wasn’t going to work for our family this week due to both work and sports. Instead we are going to treat this time like a stay-cation. as much as possible between obligations.

Mini-me snapped this photo after a volleyball game. We didn’t go to the shops but heard from those who went that it was pretty amazing what has been built on the golf course grounds. It’s like a small city they said. The celebrity cup starts today I believe and the real competition begins on Thursday.

Yesterday Mini-me and BFF went to Como Park Zoo and Conservatory. It’s over 100 years old. Of course there have been many changes and more humane treatment for the animals. I was telling the girls about what it was like 40 years ago when I was a child…just the changes that have about since then are amazing.

The flamingos were nearly orange instead of pink which was odd to me but beautiful anyway.

Speaking of orange…isn’t he gorgeous! I can’t even begin to count how many crumby shots I took before getting this one.

The giraffes always make me smile. Can you see the one in the background stretching his tongue out to grab a leaf?

The primate building is always so much fun. These two sat hugging each other the entire time we were in there. They’d adjust a bit but just sat there snuggled. Made me say AWWW more than once.

This guy made me think of a teenager on a day off…living a life of leisure.

But this one was my favorite with his awesome mustache.

Since the zoo is clear on the other side of the Twin Cities from our house, I’m not familiar with any restaurants or even fast food in that area. The girls and I decided to eat at the zoo cafe…super expensive for what we got and totally not worth it. It was super busy…captive audience I’m sure.

We were going to go into the conservatory next to see the gorgeous flowers…

but then we realized that both girls had food and drink with them which is a big no-no. We walked around the exterior while they tried to finish.

This building has changed very little if at all since I was a kid. I remember going there after church some times and marveling at the warmth inside the building and beautiful flowers in the middle of winter.

I love being able to share places I explored as a child with my kids. This little day trip made me want to do more of them.

On our way home Mini-me snapped a couple of photos of the new Vikings stadium in the heart of Minneapolis.

It was fun to see from the freeway but now I definitely want to see it up close and personal.

Today I’m not sure that we’ll get out for any “day trip”. Lots on the plate for today…an appt, volleyball match and work will keep everyone busy until past dinner time today.

So I’m starting the day with a good breakfast.

What are you doing today?

Blog

daytrip, not art at all, staycation, T Tuesday

10 Comments

halleday

201609/23201609/23201609/23

2016 Summertime Photo Scavenger hunt wrap-up

The summer has ended and so has the hunt for photos. I like to wrap things up with a recap of the old and any newly snapped photos. This year I only missed one on the list but got an alternative to takes it’s place. In the past I’ve gotten every single one including the alternates.

1. A “wild heart” – a naturally occurring heart (like the rock above, but it doesn’t have to be a rock)Hostas in my backyard

2. A footprint or pawprint

Husky paw print

3. A skeleton, bone or x-ray

At the orthopedist

4. A book or magazine read during 2016

Lots of books…can’t stop reading…

5. A porch or deck

Trex Deck at the MN landscape Arboretum

6. A camper (caravan)

Camper trailer

7. A family gathering

Independence day gathering

8. A drawing, art project, artistic photograph, scrapbook page, greeting card, or art journal page created by you.Obviously this isn’t my only creation of the summer…if you’d like to see more just browse around the blog. :)

9. Someone playing with, in, or around water.4th of July waterfight….a tradition

10. A bicycleAt a parking lot next to a state bike trail.

11. Fresh produceBeans from my garden and CSA box

12. A windowThe broken remains of my drivers side window…you can read about it here.

13. The moonLucky low light shot of the moon over the house.

14. A buffet of food4th of July gather again…

15. A team logoSome of our beloved local teams…current and former.

16. A map showing a trip taken during the time period

Mini-me and I traveled to Alexandria over the summer for a girls weekend.

This close-up map has both lakes that we stayed on…if you look closely you can see my reflection.

17. TwinsI took a bit of liberty with this one just because it made me laugh.

18. A supermarket cart, basket or trolley full of groceries

Back to school stock up at Target

19. A seasonal cocktail or beverageMoscow Mule…favorite summer drink!!

20. Someone laughing

This is the one I didn’t get mostly because I don’t show faces on my blog if at all possible.

21. A photograph of you with a newspaper or calendar page from the time period covered in the Hunt. Note: you may not use a substitute for this item.

I believe this one is self explanatory

Alternatives – if you’re having trouble finding any of the above, you may substitute from this list (but you may not substitute for item #21):
alternative 1: a lighthouse

No lighthouse either

alternative 2: a baby (human or animal)

Can you see the baby? Cute little “O”.

That about wraps it up. I’m not sure what happened to Rinda’s blog as it hasn’t been updated since June but I do know that the Facebook group has been active so I’ll be posting there. I do hope to continue with photo scavenger hunts…they are really fun and a real challenge at times to get creative and think outside the box.

Blog | Creativity | Photography

2016 photo hunt, challenge, photography

2 Comments

halleday

201609/20201609/20201609/20

T Tuesday: apple days edition

Happy Tuesday everyone! This past weekend is one I both love and hate each year. It’s the weekend we help pick apples at our neighbors house. They have 5 trees that are HUGE!! As in you need an extension ladder huge.

(This is just a 6 foot ladder…)

Some of their family comes over as well as several of us neighbors. We spend the morning picking then bring our bags of apples home and usually the afternoon or next day processing.

This year we didn’t make time for processing over the weekend. Everyone was going here and there it seemed. Sleepover, Manhattan choir fundraiser, fabricating and 3D printing in the garage and of course, leaving time to watch our Vikings play the Packers (the big border battle) in the inaugural game in the new stadium…SKOL Vikings! Our Vikings won-BTW!!!

On to Monday…this was my morning view complete with coffee as fuel for the day ahead….

Normally I process in the garage for more room but since I was doing it solo I brought the garage can inside.

After hours of peeling I had every extra large container I own full of sliced apples.

As well as a stock pot full cooking down to sauce. And the dehydrator with 6 trays loaded.

I ended up with 7 quarts that I canned…

The rest went into gallon freezer bags to be made into sauce at a later date.

As you can see by this photo it was now after 3pm and I was exhausted,

I also managed to get two loads of laundry washed during that time.

So my grand total for the day was: 7 quarts apple sauce canned, 2 quarts in fridge, 4 gallon bags of prepped apples in freezer, and a quart bag of dehydrated slices.

So like I said when I started…apple days…I have a love/hate relationship with them.

Today I’m going to have coffee with some friends then likely come home and can a few pints of diced tomatoes…or else pull up the garden and do the tomatoes tomorrow before the next round of rain.

What are you doing today?

Around home | Blog | Kitchen

apples, canning, kitchen, not art at all, T Tuesday

15 Comments

halleday

201609/12201609/12201609/12

T Tuesday: scrap quilt edition

Thanks for joining me today for T stands for Tuesday with Elizabeth and the gang. I missed last week completely and for the life of me, I can’t even remember what kept me from my weekly post!!! Oh well…on with the show!

I’ve been sorting through my bins of fabric and separating out all the long strips and random shapes to be cut down for my new string quilt project. This pile is 70% blues as I was collecting them for a little boy quilt over a decade ago. After ironing, I cut each piece down to between 1.5 and 2.5 inches wide.

I am piecing the quilt using paper squares with a white strip down the center to serve as a design element in the completed quilt. I’ve used a gluestick to adhere it to each sheet so they are ready to go as I sew. I just eyeballed it so they won’t be perfect but I’m ok with that. It is a scrappy quilt after all.

I shortened my stitch length so that the paper gets perforated and is easy to remove from the fabric once trimmed.

I have a nice little stack of them already.

And look how fun they are going to look when sewn together.

Colorful and scrappy. The other really fun thing for me is that it will be sort of a memory quilt or perhaps fabric journal of previous projects, clothing I’ve salvaged and reminders of people who have passed on but a little part of them lives on for me in the fabric as a memory. Now just look at that, I’m getting all nostalgic.

Since this is a post about quilts on T stands for Tuesday, I thought it was a good time to share a bottle of wine my in-laws brought over. I remembered to nab a photo at the very last glass.

It’s called Barn Quilt Red. This winery is one of three in a small town west of here. The soil must be good for grapes out there. This wine gives a nod to the barn quilts of Carver County.

The barn quilts are really cool. I haven’t seen all 24 but the ones I have seen are really cool. In fact I think I have a photo of one here on the blog somewhere…hmmm….must look now….here it is!

This one can be seen from the MN Landscape Arboretum.

Anyway…more sewing, ironing and cutting,,,not necessarily in that order are in store for me as well as the standard household duties.

What are you doing today?

Blog | Crafts | Creativity

fabric, quilt, scrappy quilt, scraps, T Tuesday

15 Comments

halleday

201609/07201609/07201609/07

Artistic license

One thing I love about art is that it’s so individual. I can create whatever I want…as long as my skill and ability allows. Blue green poppies are a thing, right? Well they are in my minds eye.

This was a canvas that Mini-me had played around on and no longer wanted. Gesso to the rescue.

I almost think I like painting on a canvas for the second…third…whatever time better than the first go round. The added texture pleases me. Or perhaps its all psychological. The thought being: It’s no longer a blank canvas…the mistakes have already been made and now I’m saving it.

This was what I would call a speed painting. I did this in about 5 minutes. I didn’t overthink it, mess around with it, retouch or take myself too seriously. I just let it flow. WHY don’t I just do that very same thing all the time. Not put pressure on myself to perform in a certain way. Just create from my gut and not worry or be concerned about the result.

Art | Blog | Creativity

canvas, painting

No Comments

halleday

201609/04201609/04201609/04

Looks familiar

There is a new theme over at Art Journal Journey…Back to School. Well that certainly is a timely theme since mine have been back for a week now. On typical years the kids don’t go back until after Labor Day but ours went back early to make up for the week they’ll have off at the end of September.

Of course school as we knew it is gone. No black boards…they have been replaced by first white boards then smart boards.

And remember these…you’d look up the book you wanted in a card catalog then check it out by writing your name on the library card which would be stamped with the due date. That system has been dead a very long time. Bar codes and scanners with emails to remind you of due dates is the way of today.

This page is a tribute to school the way we knew it.

Art | Blog | Creativity

art journal, Art Journal Journey, challenge, Gypsy journal, stickers

8 Comments

halleday

Halle's Hobbies

A peek into my eclectic life

Category : Blog

A second look: Friendship

T Tuesday: Ryder Cup edition

2016 Summertime Photo Scavenger hunt wrap-up

T Tuesday: apple days edition

T Tuesday: scrap quilt edition

Artistic license

Looks familiar