My First ATC

I have been creating collages and journaling for quite some time and the format is generally no smaller than the size of a moleskin. I have been checking out a bunch of creative Yahoo groups and came across some fun challenges and magnificent artwork. I picked up some collage sheets and other goodies from ArtChix and used some of them to create my very first ATC for a Garden Party themed challenge. It was very different to work on a smaller scale, looking for and cropping images so much smaller than I am accustomed. Fun, none the less! Here is my petite piece of art!



(Must get the scanning and editing under control - the image doesn't look so hot!)

Making Time for Art

I have always read the importance of making time to create, if that is what your soul needs. Now that I have the most inviting space, I have been making time. Rainy days don't hurt, either. I have my new craft room organized into different work areas: sewing, painting and paper crafts, and jewelry. When the paint is drying I can sew or work on a jewelry piece. I haven't been doing much jewelry lately but am exciting to be participating in a charm swap. I love working under the pressure of a deadline (seriously).


I have been playing around with painting on fabric and canvas. Some of my favorite fiber artists have inspired me to experiment myself. It is a lot of fun!

I created a little bag with a magnetic snap closure out of some of the painted canvas. It was a good experiment sewing on heavy painted fabric - I'm still a novice seamstress.

1946
I have had a thing for the collectible, 'designer' vinyl and the artwork and books that correspond with this genre. I often think I am a bit odd or immature when it comes to this, however the art and artists that work in this medium are very inspiring to my own art, so I like what I like! I customized my own Munny this weekend. I call it '1946' because it was collaged with articles and advertisements from magazines published that year.

Working on some paintings of my own, along with some journaling. Afternoon Florida rain allows me to feel comfortable with my kids playing XBox or Legos and letting me create.

So I Made Time For Myself

It's funny how writing things down, whether on a blog (that I don't even know how many people actually read) or a journal, you see things and rethink things. So when I finished whining about the guilt I felt about taking time for myself to create art and craft, I made this:

Another tote bag made from recycled tshirts. They are so handy! I attempted to take photographs to try to do a little tutorial. I don't know if I will post it or use it in the art zine that I will be creating for a zine swap. I love reading art zines. So interesting to get a peek into other people's artsy lives and have unique pieces of art in hand. I am excited about this - I have until mid November to create 10 zines of my own to swap. Moving and the Bar Mitzvah? Not evening going there. I am signing up and thus committing myself and will enjoy myself. Creating art is a good way to releive stress in my life.

Finding Time for Creativity

Guilt. I have it. I shouldn't but I do. Everyone does at one time or another. I have so much on my plate - To-do lists strewn across my desk like Times Square after New Years. In my heart I want to sit down in my craft room and do some collage in my art journal (that I am still enjoying), sew another bag, or work on that crocheted blanket that I have had going for over a year. But the fact that I am moving in a few months makes me feel guilty that I should be doing something productive rather than 'frivolously playing in my room'. (That quote came from the inner me, not from the guys of all ages who live with me and have no problem lounging on the couch.) I was packing boxes at 8 a.m. I had yet to do anything and I felt I might as well get started on packing some personal items such as framed photos, which supposedly is better for showing homes for sale anyhow.

I am very excited for this move - I am planning on the decorated feeling to be more colorful, artsy, and inspiring. Fun and welcoming. I live in a house that is too neutral for my liking now, and the high ceilings and flowing layout make it difficult to paint colors. I am planning on reupholstering a lot of my furniture and making slipcovers for my dining room chairs. Oh the fun of fabric shopping! The current occupants will be moving out around Halloween, which will give us some time to work on the house and move in. But first I have to get through my son's Bar Mitzvah.

Much of last week was spent putting the guest list together and stuffing and stamping envelopes. His invitations came out great. They look like mini rock posters with a big guitar in the background and were printed like postcards. The response cards look like tickets. So cute! Well, cool. Must attend to details. So now you can see why I feel guilty about taking time for arts and crafts. Then again, I am writing this. And I just did a bit of online shopping and bought these:

From my Flickr collage group I found out these were good white pens for journaling so I want to try them. I also want to buy these:

Sharpie Poster Pens are also supposed to be terrific for journaling but are hard to find. Heck with it, I think I'll go paint some backgrounds. Then pack another box.

Journaling,Crocheting, Jewelry Making - Crafty ADD!

Crafty ADD - if it was a real affliction, I would certainly self diagnose myself. Of course the cool guy that build a lot of the shelves and wall units in my house is convinced I have regular ADD and thus could never have my own focused business. I don't listen to people like that, oh, no!

I found myself working on my crocheted blanket this morning while my younger son watched Saturday morning cartoons (I still haven't outgrown this.) Following breakfast I water colored and stamped some backgrounds on some pages of my art journal, which I am still enjoying! Around lunch time I found that I had sold a bracelet from my Etsy shop (yeah me!), which is prompting me to get around to photographing more of my jewelry to list. The afternoon found me picking up a few new craft books, one being the Naughty Secretary Club by Jennifer Perkins, who is a DIY tv personality and blogger who I have enjoyed reading and watching for some time. Her book is great fun! The others I will share at another time. I am not a big shopper when it comes to things that I could actually use (new sneakers) but I never pass a bookstore without stopping and never leave without a new craft book or magazine!

My latest artistic endeavor and source of enjoyment has been keeping working on the collages in the art journal.

This was a page from this past week. Fun!

Next endeavor, I think, will be to create an art zine for an art zine swap. I have some good ideas. The timing is a bit tight with the bar mitzvah and the move but frankly creating art and craft is what relaxes, de-stresses, and inspires me. Positive energy. Yes, I think I will do it!

Golden Ticket

I never win anything. Not that I am complaining - ya gotta play to win and I am not a player per se (I only by lottery tickets if the winnings are $100 million. Anything below is not worth my dollar!)

A fabulous zine that I recieved from wonderful artist Alma Stoller called 'Odd Ball Charm' delivered a bit of luck along with that charm. Inside was a golden ticket that wins me a piece of her artwork! How awesome is that?! The theme for my new house decorating is color! and her artwork is just that!

My baby girl Nikki shares the excitement!

Crafty Book Finds in Boston

I just returned from another vacation in Boston, which is always a delight unless it is between November and April. Being a city full of young people due to the abundance of fabulous colleges and universities, it has lots of crafty and green offerings. Due to my schedule that centered around visiting my son at camp, I was unable to do what I REALLY wanted to do, and that was visit the South End Open Market, which has everything from crafts to food every Sunday. There was also a green/crafty festival in Somerville - missed that, too.

Having finished the novel that I was reading on the plane, I tried to convince my 9 year old to walk over to Borders to pick up something for me to read. Tired after a day of walking the New England Aquarium, he countered that it was not necessary for me to go. In desperation to avoid watching cartoons later that evening, we stopped into the Paper Source store next to the hotel with fingers crossed that they had something crafty for me to read. I left with the most amazing zine by artist Teesha Moore called Art & Life. Her journaling and collage work is vibrant and inspiring.
This particular issue (#10) had her trip to Tokyo journalled. It was so much fun to read and look at. I went back for the only other issue they had (#7) and just ordered two more from her website.

Saturday we spent walking much of the city, from Newbury and Charles streets to Fanueil Hall and the Freedom Trail (No, our youngster wasn't with us. His little feet wouldn't have made it that far in the heat. Neither did mine, from the looks of the bandaids on my feet.) We stopped into a Boston favorite, Newbury Comics. I am not a comics reader/collector per se, however they have records, cds and dvds, and a very large collection of collectibles, including the designer vinyl and Japanese ones that I like. I found two great books as well. First, I was nostalgic to pick up Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip.
I used to read the Moomin books when I was in grade school! My memory tells me that I loved them, and the cover graphics on this hardcover is great!

The second hardcover book that I encountered has me so very excited. It is called What It Is by Lynda Barry. The subtext on the cover says "Do you wish you could write?" Every single page in this book has hand drawn copy and illustrations and thought provoking questions, such as "What is a reflection?" "What is a secret? Where is it kept?" and so on. I paid full price and see I can get it for less on line, but it was fun to read and discover on vacation. Frankly, the books and some paper at Paper Source was all the shopping I did for myself this vacation.

I was, however, inspired to start collaging again and have to find some of the artist crayons that Teesha Moore uses in her collages and journaling. Besides this talented artist, I can thank my momentarily whining child for steering me into the store that had the zine!

More doggy cute

These layered paper cut compositions by SanFran67, another very talented Etsy artist, really caught my eye.


Besides canine cuteness, she has birds, a monkey and beautiful monochromatic work.

Puppy Love

I love my dogs. My three papillons are personalities plus! Never a dull moment when they are around (which is always!)



I fell in love when I saw these paintings and prints from Dog Art by Lyn on Etsy. They truly capture the papillon spirit!



She's got beautiful originals and prints with many other adorable canines.

Art on Etsy

I am a bit obsessed with Etsy (as are most people after they discover it!) They have a new feature called 'pounce' that lets you see what was recently bought and what else is available from that seller. I also like scrolling through the Time Machine 2 that lets you see the most recently listed items.

I have found some great things on Etsy that I have shared in the past. There is especially some great artwork out there. I recently added Mt. Joy School to my list of favorites. Their mixed media compositions are done with such vibrant colors and subject matter. May have to add to my artwork collection!

Art by Creative Thursday

I love the paintings by Marisa of Creative Thursday. She creates the sweetest paintings with such personality. In person they have great color and depth. I had been admiring them for some time and when she posted a bunch of her original daily paintings up for sale I snapped up two of my favorites. It was hard to choose.

Busy Bee that I am

Back to school blew in like one of Florida's annoying hurricanes. I went from leisurely mornings with coffee and my youngest son to to being the mom taxi virtually overnight. It's all good. Musings....

My friend and I just signed up for a class at the local museum art school. They have so many choices it was hard to choose. We settled on a jewelry fabrication class. I think it was the introduction to blow torches that intrigued me. It starts September 10th - we can't wait.

I have only boys, and even though my mother tells me repeatedly that I am better off because boys are easier (yeah yeah yeah) I am not going to have the opportunity to create a fabulous doll house with a daughter. The cutesy pink crafty creations and Hello Kitty motifs are painfully obvious that they are for me. I am lucky, however, to have creative boys. One son manages to get his school artwork submitted for local contests and the school calendar and doesn't seem bothered a bit to mix art in with his football persona. The youngest is the coolest of all. He parlays his obsession with stuffed animals (that have taken over his room) into many creative endeavors. He writes and illustrates journals and books about them. Takes them places and photographs them (and uploads and saves them on his computer with the freebie giveaway camera his grandfather gave him). He got a new bed over the summer and decorated the walls over it with all kinds of things. Printouts, stickers, box covers from Japanese Godzilla toys, and more. I usually hate stickers and tape on the walls but he actually made it look like an interesting and growing collage.

I received the Vinyl Wall Art (see previous post) today (fast production and shipping!) I have them temporarily taped to the wall before I mount them. These are going to look adorable - and I have a feeling this decorative medium might be addicting.


Another Etsy seller that I like and wanted to share is Artgoodies. They have dish/hand towels printed with great looking motifs, including birds, deer, squirrels and other wildlife as well as cupcakes. They also print the designs on to aprons and little stuffies. I bought some towels for myself then sent a few to my Uncle as a gift.

ARTful Sunday

Being the crafty mommy that I truly am, I seek out crafty and interesting things to do with my kids. Occasionally our local museum will have a family activity that is cultural and includes a hands on art or craft project. Today we visited for a Japanese themed event. Although the audio visual system was broken and the poor instructor had to speak over the chatty families to give directions on origami animals. Being crafty, my son and I caught on quickly and made a few cute things.
My best discovery, however was in the lobby just outside the giftshop. There was an ARTOMAT. This is a former cigarette machine that has been transformed into a cool piece of pop art itself and dispenses small works of art. How cool is that?! We purchased $5 tokens and had a hard time choosing what to vend. There were small placards that listed the artist with graphics and a hint of what was inside. We ended up with a small simple painting, a paper collage, a pocket square, and a cool printed box filled with 12 printed poems on printed cards (our favorite). My son and I both share a love of cute and interesting little things, so we enjoyed this.