I am working at making some changes. I’ve had things very wonky a couple times already. Feel free to let me know if you see any bugs or anomalies as you browse.
Thanks for your patience.
After completing the cover on my last art journal, I had some scraps of stamped tissue paper laying around. I layered the lovely brown tissue on the pages. This gave my background instant texture and an even more aged feel than the original pages already have.
I really enjoy this color combo. It’s bold yet not something that makes you search for your sunglasses.
It didn’t occur to me until just now that this journal entry is very similar to a small canvas creation that adorns my livingroom.
Someone is very curious about mom’s camera…
As I was saying…before my ADD had me running up to take a photo of the livingroom wall…this color combo is obviously something I like a lot. The complementary colors work so well and the black and white accents give a nice pop.
Welcome to another edition of T stands for Tuesday. Today I wanted to introduce you to a new member of our family.
After having to make the tough decision to put Miss Gracie down mid- February (no I never mentioned it here) we had a hole in our lives.
We had talked about getting a kitten…or two and had been actively seeking them. Then we met Marvin at a local rescue.
He’s a curious guy. He literally stops to smell the flowers each time he walks through the living room. He is also a very big boy.
This is the loveseat…easily seats two adults. We believe he has either Norwegian Forest Cat or Maine Coon in his background. He can put his front paws and face up on the kitchen table if that helps reference his size. Hmmm…so we went from wanting a kitten to getting pretty much the biggest cat we could find.
He is such a lover though. Especially to us girls.
I was curious how he’d be with the kids headed back to school. He loved all the early morning activity such as lunch making.
Another busy Tuesday ahead…
What are you doing today?
I can’t believe how late I am this year starting my seeds. I usually start them around St Patrick’s Day. Somehow it slipped my mind that week then the next was a disaster of monstrous proportions when Murphey stopped by and overstayed his welcome.
I settled on two kinds of tomatoes and green onions this year. At least for now. I’m not ruling out starting a couple more things. Last year my small starter plants didn’t fair well once transplanted so I’m not sure if it’s worth the time and effort,
I decided to try planting my green onion seeds in egg shells this year. For one…they are so cute! And secondly, I can just slightly crush the shell when planting the sprouts in a bigger container instead of trying to move those spindly little onions one by one. Experimentation is always fun.
I’ve been saving my larger plastic containers for transplanting the tomatoes out of the disposable cups (which BTW I’ve had on hand for ages!! Not terribly “green” but they are a necessary evil when hosting a large crowd. ) I decided to cut up a lid and use it as plant markers. This works so much better than wooden popsicle sticks!!
Hopefully next time I share photos the containers will be sporting little tiny green seedlings.
Since it’s April and this month is Earth Month I thought I’d share a second look at a bit of upcycling from a few years ago.
Oct 6, 2013
Upcycling Projects
We all know how to recycle and I’m sure most do it daily. Newspapers, cardboard, glass and plastic are all readily recyclable in most cities, at least across the USA.
This is wonderful! But I’ve been really focused on upcycling lately. Finding a new use for something that would ordinarily be tossed out. Wine corks, bottle caps, worn out clothing, stained linens, broken plates…you get the idea.
I showed a sneak peek of these a while ago. I made a wine cork tree last year but this time I decided to change things a bit. I used a Champagne cork cut in half for the trunk. I think they turned out really cute.
I’ve also been using some scraps from previous projects such as the denim remaining after completing a quilt or two. As well as the remainder of the dress shirts that I made wine bottle gift bags from.
In addition I’ve been making a bunch more cards. I’ll show more of these last two projects at a later date. The cards have much less upcycling in it’s truest sense but I am still attempting to include elements that might otherwise be considered unusable such as tiny scraps of fabric and yarn. As well as photo trimmings. I have a cigar box full of photo trimmings…they have such vibrant colors that it’s a shame to toss them out.
It doesn’t have to be Earth Day to be a little “green”. Do a little more every day to be kind to our planet. Last time I checked…it’s the only one we have. :)
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If you’d like to see more recycling and upcycling projects please use the tag cloud on my sidebar.
For lack of a better idea for the name of this journal I opted to use the name of the book.
Especially since the title shows through the stamped tissue paper I used to cover it.
This journal was the first one that I started with the intention of it being an art journal. My original thoughts were that I would create some pages then journal on them at a later time. Of course how I actually used this changed over time.
There is everything from challenges to me just trying to work through something to experiments with new products and techniques as well as just playing around being creative.
Welcome to T stands for Tuesday. Hope you had a lovely Easter.
Last week I decided to try a new technique with my natural onion skin dye. I’ve done natural dying in the past and always amazed how different the results can be.
The only leaf or flower I had on hand was cilantro, so I made do with that.
I didn’t have a ton of onion skins so I decided on 4 eggs. I tucked the eggs into the onion skins and filled the pan with water. I also gave a generous splash of white vinegar to the mix. I cooked the eggs like I would for hard boiled eggs. Bring to a boil uncovered, boil 1 minute, cover and turn off burner. Let sit for at least 20 mins. Perfect eggs every time. These eggs I let sit much longer…until they were lukewarm since I wanted the dye to have as much time to work it’s magic as possible.
Oh yeah magic. Look at how dark that color came out.
They are so interesting to look at. I want to try this again but with other leaves and flowers.
I was so mad at myself after I dumped the dye water down the sink. What was I thinking!!! I could have thrown some bits and pieces of fabric and lace in there. My mind was preoccupied. Good old Murphy of Murphy’s law had paid us a visit. While boiling the eggs I notice the digital display for the oven wasn’t on. Obviously the cook top worked since I was using it. Yep the control board was shot. On the bright side, I hated my old stove. And this lovely news came the day after finding out I have to get a root canal. Nothing like waking up with a swollen cheek and painful mouth.
There are a few more things that Murphy contributed to over the past week as well but I’m done complaining.
Time for a decadent cup of coffee before moving on with my day.
What are you doing today?