The 12 Days of Christmas - Day 2

Cleaning your (ART) house before Christmas...

Yesterday morning I discovered (much to my initial consternation and rather ugly spoken words not fit to print)  that the drive on my computer that has all the "good stuff" on it (including most of the stuff I was going to show you over the next week or so) has mysteriously disappeared from my computer.   I haven't got a clue as to what has happened to that drive (I am keeping my fingers crossed that it's not serious) as  computers and me haven't been getting along so well this year... this is the second time this has happened!  So I am just going to do the best I can to keep my promise to you here over the next ten days... although I haven't quite figured out how yet! LOL  But here goes...

This past week, after doing some stamping both on paper and clay,  I discovered I was out of stamp cleaner.  Not being able to find the recipe I had printed a couple of years ago, I knew exactly where to go... this blog's archive.  And yep, there is was.

Now some of you who have been loyal followers over the years will recognize a portion of the contents of this post (I have revised it slightly) and I hope it comes as a handy reminder.  For some of you, this will be new and hopefully you find it useful in your art days ahead! 

Here are some tips today to help you save some money on supplies you can make in order to buy supplies that you can't (GRIN)... and I've thrown in a NEW "recipe" for a hand cleaner for good measure.  This "recipe" works like magic to get your hands squeaky clean once you are all done for the day.  It even removes clay "residue" from your hands after playing with clay, especially liquid clay,  for a day!

MAKE YOUR OWN STAMP SCRUBBER
Ever painted the walls in your home? If so, you probably have a paint edger, used to paint the edge of walls at the ceiling or the trim, kicking around in your garage with the paint tools. Snatch it from its lonely, almost forgotten spot and put it to work in your art room!

These paint edgers are made from the same material used in much more expensive “stamp scrubbers” you find in stamping stores. The next time you are in the hardware or paint store, purchase a replacement package for the edger. You can then use it to scrub your stamps after your next stamping session.

MAKE YOUR OWN STAMP CLEANER
The recipe I like best (and I have tried a lot of them) is very simple to make. You can find all of the ingredients in your local pharmacy. It’s a good one if you are sensitive to chemicals or have allergies. This one works well on both rubber or clear stamps.

To one cup (8 oz) of distilled water, add 2 tablespoons of glycerin and 1 tsp. of baby wash. You can add some rose water to this mixture (makes it smell nice) but it is optional. Put the mixture in a household spray bottle, spray your dirty stamp, wipe off the excess with an old rag or “seen better days” towel. This will remove most of the ink. Now using your “new” paint edger scrubber, spray some of the liquid on it and give your stamp a good clean.

A few notes about your stamp cleaning brew…
When making this solution, use ONLY distilled water. The chemicals in tap water can harden the rubber on your stamps (makes you wonder what those chemicals might be doing to our bodies huh?) and bottled water still has some traces of minerals that could potentially ruin your stamp over time. In a pinch you could use filtered water but I personally don’t think it would be a good idea long term. You can find distilled water at your local drug store or pharmacy. It is not expensive. You may have to purchase a larger jug of it but you’ll never have to buy another one for a very long time!

You can find baby wash (a liquid “soap” used to wash a baby’s tender skin) in the baby products aisle. I use Aveeno Baby (no fragrance) made by Johnson and Johnson. It’s the same bottle I purchased when my  granddaughter was a baby (she’s seven now) and came with her mom to visit Gramma and Grampa for the first time. Other brands of creamy baby wash will probably work just as well.

Glycerin is often used commercially in beauty products and better brands of bathing soap. Pharmacies stock it in smaller bottles because the medicinal use is to relieve chapped skin, minor burns or for minor cough and throat irritations. If you don’t find it in the “cough medicine” or “chapped skin” product aisle, ask a clerk. Be prepared to tell them what it is used for… some of them seem to not know what it is!

Why does this recipe use glycerin?
When I first came across this stamp cleaner recipe on the web (I don’t remember now where I first saw it), I was curious as to why glycerin was called for in the recipe. I asked my husband, who, “in his old life” was a chemist and he said “Probably to condition the rubber, keep it from cracking or going hard.” Well we certainly want to prolong the life of our favourite stamps, don’t we? Make the effort to find glycerin.

CLEANING GLUE/ACRYLIC HARDENED BRUSHES
I could just kick myself in the butt every time I forget to clean my glue or acrylic laden paint brush when I am working on a project! I don’t know how many dried on, glue or acrylic paint encrusted brushes I threw out before I discovered this tip: Soak it in GooBeGone overnight. The glue softens right up and you can then get all the “gunk” out of it.

EFFORTLESS BRUSH CLEANING

I keep some HAND liquid soap in a container next to my “brush cleaning sink”. Once I have removed most of the water soluble paint from my brush by swishing it in a container of water, I squirt a little of the liquid soap in the palm of my hand, swish the brush in it, rinse it well under running water and set it aside to dry. With very little effort and mess, my brushes (and hands) are as clean as a whistle when I am done.


HAND CLEANER


4 tbls. Murphy's Oil Soap
1/2 cup Borax
a few drops of essential oil if desired (I like lavender, orange or peppermint)

Put the borax in a tightly lidded jar or container.  Add the oil soap and essential oil and mix together with a fork until it is the consistency of a lovely frosting for a cake!  Keep the lid tightly capped so that it does not dry out.

Well that’s it for today. See you tomorrow. Now go clean your (ART) house… LOL!

Cheers,
Sharon

Abstract Art - Visual Poetry in Motion

You know what I like best about creating abstract art?  It's not supposed to look like anything in particular!  For someone like MOI whose drawing abilities leave a lot to be desired LOL, creating something "abstract" is the perfect form of self expression.  I love the playfulness and freedom inherent in just messing around with colour with no outcome in mind... it kinda reminds me of colouring cows purple with green polka dots in grade school. The only person I needed or wanted to please was myself.  When it comes to art, that's still the same for me today.

Have you ever noticed how something abstract is rather like poetry in motion?  Instead of words or sentences. color, texture,  form, shapes, lines and patterns all dance together to make up the stanzas (verses) of a particular piece of art.   It is filled with mystery and intrique.  Its heart dances freely to the tune of its own drummer.  It speaks to the non verbal parts of us.  The experience of art is very often more important to us than the "understanding" of what a particular piece of art is "supposed" to represent.

This past couple of weeks I have been playing with paint, chalk, gesso, etc.. as well as clay. 

Here's a piece of background paper I created that I particularly like...

I have tons (well, a big old suitcase full) of background papers I have done over the years... I love playing around with different mediums and experimenting with different techniques!  Who knows what I will use them for GRIN.   It's just fun, free wheeling, satisfying and I positively adore the mystery/intrigue in not knowing what I'll get until it's done.  I hate surprises but I sure love mystery!!!

I get the same deeply satisfying experience creating faux Mokume Gane with polymer clay.  Mokume Gane, if you are unfamiliar with this term,  is an ancient Japanese mixed metal technique for creating laminate metal with multiple distinctive layers using various metals.  It was originally used only for sword fittings during the 17th century but later was also used for decorative art pieces.

Polymer clay artists  "adopted" this technique of layering sheets of prepared clay with metal leaf to simulate this process.  The result is positively gorgeous!  It's something, I think,  you have to actually see in person to really appreciate the beauty.

In the photos below, the patterns were created from a stack of 18 ultrathin layers of clay.  Micro thin slices were shaved from the "stack" and placed on a "receiving" sheet of background clay.  This sheet was then hand formed into the tiny bowls below.  After they were fired, they were sanded smooth, buffed and multiple layers of glaze applied to protect and enhance the beauty of these small pieces of art.

Fortunately, I had enough to also make some beads and a couple of pendants after I completed a number of bowls!  Don't know why I had so much trouble getting a photo of the necklace... I must have tried at least 20 times to capture it.  It is really very, very pretty.... and to see it in person is to appreciate it even more!

And, of course, the most wonderful news about these pieces... they have all been accepted by the Coast Collective Gallery for sale in their gift store.  I am a happy camper!!


Hope you have a wonderful week... I'm going to go play with some paint!


Sharon

"Tooling" around... some mini "how to" tutorials

After a total *DISASTER* in the computer department, I am finally back online!  The motherboard on my main computer decided to give me a very hard time... three capacitors blew up and that was the end of my computer!  I was *more* than annoyed... the computer wasn't all that old and a well known brand name.  But I heaved a sigh of relief at none of my data being lost!  Doing backups on my external drive made a difference too!  The only problem was... I had to find a computer *somewhere* running XP (I had always refused to upgrade to Vista) in order to access it.  It took a couple of days for hubby to track one down with our local computer guy... who was great.. he switched the drives and I was back in business.  I flipped the switch and  then came the shocking realization I had lost all of my software programs!  Fortunately I had the CD's for some of them (and have most of them now re-loaded) but a lot of programs I had downloaded off the web were lost.  Needless to say, it has been a frustrating and maddening two weeks getting back to this point.

To calm my jangled technology nerves, I whipped out my clay and began to play!!  I have been wanting to cover a needle tool hubby made for me a couple of years ago out of a heavy darning needle and a piece of dowel.  I use it all the time... and not just for claying.  After all that use, it was looking pretty grubby!!

It's the greatest little tool for punching holes in leather, in cloth for putting in grommets or getting a sewn buttonhole started, cleaning those tiny ridges in my clay gun, poking holes in cardboard or paper... oh I could go on and on!!  Want to make one yourself?  Just get a heavy darning needle, drill a hole in a 4" piece of 3/4" doweling that will fit the darning needle and glue it in with some heavy carpenter's glue. Cover it with clay, make a little bead for the end (so you don't poke yourself by accident) and you're done!

While I was at it, I decided to make some little stamps I could use to texture clay from some charms, embellishments and buttons I had lying around my art table.  I simply made an handle out of scrap clay, put a little clay behind the charm, button or embellishment to offset it from the handle, cooked it and voila a bunch of cool little stamps were born.  They work like a charm!  (no pun intended!)

 

Take a look at this photo.  Yep, it's my initial!  Can you guess what it might be?

The mystery thickens with some colourful "pick up sticks"

Now what do you get when you add the two together?  Why a "Bead-0-Matic" baker and glazing tool that looks like this:

Here's what's neat about this "tool":  it won't fall over in the oven (even in a convection oven with all that hot air swirling about) while the "cocktail" toothpicks hold the beads while baking.  You can remove the toothpicks and once you have sanded your beads (if they aren't textured), you can put them back on the toothpick, dip or glaze them and set them back into the holder to dry.  If you happen to lose or break one of the toothpicks, you can simply replace it with another one!

All you need to make it are some cocktail toothpicks and some scrap clay.  Form the clay into an "S", poke your toothpicks into the clay (leave them there while baking the "form"), bake the clay at 275 degrees for about 40 minutes (depending on the thickness of your clay).  Remove it from the oven while hot (I use an "Ove-Glove" in my clay room for handling hot clay coming from the oven) and immediately remove the toothpicks.  Let it cool, then put the toothpicks back into the holes in the form.  You have to remove the toothpicks while the form is hot otherwise they will be very difficult to remove without breaking!

Another use for this tool is using it as a holder for painting small "stuff" or when you are making little embellishments to add to ATC's, cards or other art.

So that's it for today... hope you find these tools useful.  I've got some beads that need sanding...

Happy Arting...

Sharon

P.S.  Have any of you who have blogs had as much frustration as I have had in "transitioning" the Google apps that can't automatically be moved to Google's new structure?  I was ready to tear my hair out...what a process... and I am not sure that I have even got it right.  I consider myself pretty web savvy but boy I found it confusing!  If anyone has some good tips, I'd love to hear from you!

A Wonderful Birthday Surprise!

The day dawned rather cool and cloudy.  "Where's the sun?" I mused to myself.

It had been a rather dull and rainy week but today the sun would shine for sure!  You see, it was my birthday and the sun has shone on my birthday for as long as I can remember.  Sometimes only for a few minutes but it has never disappointed me.... even on that day I turned ten.

A freak snowstorm dumped so much snow (I was living with my family in Ontario then) that the snow drifts were so high that it blocked our front door and I had to cancel my birthday party!  I was so disappointed.  Then, early in the afternoon, the sun came out and sprinkled diamonds in the snow for me.  It was a birthday gift that I have never forgotten and now I have another one to add to the "memory book" of my life...

I fired up my computer and opened my mail. There was an email from the gallery that I had, on a bit of a  dare, submitted three of my pieces for an upcoming art show.  I opened it, just as the sun peaked through the clouds for a few seconds and shone in through the window.

I am certain, that had you seen the look on my face as I read the email, it would have been... well... priceless!  I had to read it three times before it sunk in.  It was an acceptance email for not one, not two but all three of my pieces.  Now THAT is quite an unexpected but very sweet birthday gift.  I was so excited that I thought for a moment my heart would jump right out of my body.  If that's what winning the lottery feels like... BRING IT ON!  I am really looking foward to inviting some of the very special people and friends in my life to the Artist's Reception and Opening on May 28.  The show itself is open to the public from May 26 - June 5.

This particular art gallery has always appealed to the Victoria historian in me and I love going there... even just to wander around the gardens on the property.  In my wildest dreams I never expected to one day have my art shown there. 

Being a "collective" gallery (a community of artists and mainly run by volunteers), I had given some serious thought this past winter to offering some volunteer time at the gallery just to put myself in a community of artists.  I felt it was an opportunity to get to know other artists and their work in our area and perhaps attend some of the art workshops there.  Hubby and I talked about it and he encouraged me to "go for it".  I was all set to contact them after Christmas when, of course, I found out that I was about to be sidelined on the "lazy boy" for a couple of months.  So much for that idea!

In early April, a friend mentioned that the gallery was looking for artists to submit their art for jurying and be included in their upcoming "Anything Goes" art show.  It was an "open" submission... meaning that you didn't have to be an "associate artist" of the gallery in order to submit.  I must admit, I rather scoffed at the idea at the time.

"Oh for Pete's sake, Sharon" she said my friend, rather annoyed.  "You've had pieces juried and accepted in the two biggest shows on Vancouver Island that every artist covets getting into.  Both of those shows accept only about a third of all the submissions they get.  Considering that the percentage of pieces sold at those shows is less than half, that's a big message.  It tells you there are people out there who like "your "stuff".  Your pieces have all sold. You can submit three pieces to the Coast Collective Gallery... just pick three of your favourite pieces that you can part with, fill out the application and submit them for heaven's sake."  So, after thinking it over for a few days, I did!

Have you ever had the experience of initially rejecting an idea because something seemed to be stopping you?  I admit, this "kick in the butt" conversation with my friend  got me thinking.  Was I afaid of being rejected?  Did I not value my own work?  What was going on in that brain of mine?  It took me a couple of days to figure it out.

Working through those questions prompted me to write a new artist's statement.  It's a great exercise I think every artist should be required to do at least once a year (and mine was a couple of years old) I feel really good about my artists statement now... it is definitely more authentic than ever before and  a much truer reflection of where I come from and what my art is all about for me.   Want to have a "conversation" about the process of writing an artist statement?  Let me know and I'll put a blog post together.

In the meantime, a "snippet" of Victoria history that surrounds the Coast Collective Gallery, a photo of the building and photos of my pieces that were accepted into the show.

"Pendray House" - Coast Collective Art Gallery
Havenwood Estates at Esquimalt Lagoon
Colwood, British Columbia

The Gallery is at the end of a winding road in Havenwood Estate (close to Hatley Castle at Royal Roads University) in the historic Pendray House.  Built in 1928 by Herbert Pendray (1883-1956), the son of William Pendray, Herbert worked in the family paint business (the British American Paint Company) in the position of Vice President. 

His father William came to British Columbia in 1869 during the gold rush to work in the mines at Mosquito Creek in the Cariboo.  He struck it rich when he acquired one of the gold mines that turned out to have the richest diggings in the country.  He returned to England for a few years and then made his way back to Victoria and founded the Pendray Soap Factory ((located near the grand Empress Hotel at the head of Victoria's Inner Harbour) and later founded a highly successful paint company known as the British American Paint Company. 

Nestled in the woods overlooking the ocean, Pendray House was built in the English style of a Mediterraean villa.   A Gardener's Cottage, used by the grounds caretaker followed in 1935 along with a greenhouse and barn.

Sold after the death of Herbert's wife, the house has had a few owners over the years. In 1966, it was purchased for use as a country club and later became a rest home for the elderly but sold again  and was leased by the Pacific Center for Family Services up until a few years ago when it became the Coast Collective Gallery. 

Situated in one of the most beautiful settings for a gallery in Victoria, the grounds surrounding the house are absolutely gorgeous.  One highlight is the antique sundial sitting on a plinth of river stones in the garden.  The inscriptions on the sundial are worth noting...
“For every hour that passes, a remembrance;
For every hour that strikes, a happiness;
For every hour that comes, a hope."

The inscription inside the hour circle of the sundial itself reads, “Time is Precious”

Wandering through the “house” with all its little rooms filled with art “goodies” is delightful. There is a lovely gift shop with a “tea veranda” and the main gallery, with its full frontage windows, overlooks the grounds and the ocean… the view is spectacular.  It's a little piece of "heaven" tucked away close to my favourite beach.

Here are photos of the pieces that have been accepted into the show:

Kyoto Geikos - Clay Mixed Media
inspired by the story "Memoirs of a Geisha"



"Tweet T2" - Ceramic/Clay
inspired by birds singing and "tweeting" while I was drinking
some southern "sweet tea" in a garden in Savannah, Georgia

"Sakura Geisha" - Japanese Paper Collage/Drawing
inspired by a tale about a beautiful Japanese
Geisha who was a dancer but sent the man she
loved most of all away for she felt she was
"unworthy"  of his love for her.  A sad but
moving tale of of sacrifice --- she mourned
him deeply to the end of her days.




Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful long weekend.  Now I must take the time today to fill out my forms to become an associate member of the collective!  YIPPEEE!

Sharon



Claying Around... A Wire, Clay and Bead Embellished Necklace

Here's a fun little bunny hopping by to say Happy Easter to you!

May this Easter bring  you and the special people in your life, lot of Love, Smiles and a chocolate bunny to nibble on.

This week I graduated to an old pair of gardening shoes .. not pretty by any means but boy at least I can get them on my "newly aligned" foot without screeching!  It has amazed me at just how sensitive my foot is since the operation and how I am having to learn how to walk again.  I never realized, until now, just how "off" my gait was before the operation.  The minute I put my foot down in the "old" position, I get a sharp pain in my hip to remind me to "get with the program" and adjust.

I won't be running any marathons soon LOL but slowly and surely I can stand again for longer than 10 minutes.  So I took advantage this week and decided to clay around....

Here's a photo of the "leaf" necklace I made to which I added some wire and beads.  Although it looks "red" in the photo (when will I ever learn how to do photography??? LOL), it is actually a copper metallic colour.  The highlighting, also in metallic was done with a couple of colours... blue, green and purple... and sets it all off very subtly.  I love how it just catches the light and changes colour depending on the angle.

Each of the individual leaves would make a sweet pendant all by itself.  I attached the leaves to an "antiqued" copper chain that I purchased and made a clasp to finish it off.

Just a reminder... there is still time to enter the April giveaway for the rather funky necklace I made some time back.  Just click on the photo in the Popular Posts (Blog Giveaway - A Funky Pendant Necklace) over on the right hand side of this page to see it and how you can enter to win it.

Hope this finds you happy, healthy and ready to gather Easter eggs this weekend,
Sharon

A Pretty Necklace and an update...

Hi everyone...

Well, here I am, two weeks plus a couple of days in after my foot operation and although I am doing much better, it has become increasingly clear to me that this is going to take some time yet!!  Am I getting bored?  Oh YES!  I miss doing art. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do "art wise" when you spend most of the day lying on your back with your foot in the air and... daytime television just doesn't do it for me. LOL 

Audiobooks have made it much more pleasant and the music, videos, podcasts, etc. on my IPod have been getting a good workout.  Right now I can spend about 15 minutes on the computer without my foot swelling up (and hurting like mad I might add)  It doesn't seem to like it when I sit with my foot down... even if it is resting on an upside down bucket under my desk...so this post will be short and sweet.  Just long enough to touch base....

I have been anxious to show you the beautiful polymer clay necklace I made at my claying retreat with Helen Briel and Eugenia Chan in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago.  What a fun retreat it was.  Both of these ladies were just absolutely wonderful...  more patience with our group than I could ever muster up I am sure LOL.  If you ever get the opportunity to have a workshop with either of them, I would highly recommend them. I am just tickled with the results...

Isn't that pretty?  You'd never know that it was made of clay!  I especially enjoyed learning some new wire working techniques... now I will just have to practice them. 

Unfortunately I am going to have to put off the special giveaway treat I have for new (and current) followers until around mid to late April... I am sure you can understand.  If you become a follower before then, you will be able to join in.  Just click on the "Follow" button... see over there on the left,  above all the lovely photos of other followers are... to join.

Hope to be back to more regular blogging around the first week or so of April.... so until then... have fun with your art...

Sharon





 

Christmas is in the Air...

This has been a particularly busy last couple of weeks... and quite a week past.  On Monday, on my way home from running errands, my car was rear ended causing about $5,000.00 in damage.  I was not hurt but it's a real pain in the *you know what* to have to deal with it.  It was raining and there were so many accidents that day that we can't even get the car in for repair until the end of this month! 

Wednesday, things picked up considerably... I entered a local TV contest and won two tickets to the Leonard Cohen concert here in Victoria on November 30.  I was absolutely thrilled and my hubby, who just loves L.C. was over the moon.  The tickets were rather expensive for us right now, so much to our regret we had decided to pass.  A lovely, unexpected gift! 

Friday brought a *birthday party* for our little pooch, Mr. Shelby, who turned 10!  It was hilarious how his head went back and forth, side to side, when we sang him Happy Birthday. He got so excited and was jumping all over the place like a puppy.  He knew those extra yummy treats were coming....
But alas!  It was raining outside and his lovely, fluffy Bichon*hairdo* went all curly before we could get a photo of him.  Like he cared!  All he wanted to do after a trip outside was curl up on the "studio" couch in his afghan and take in the warmth of the fireplace! 
 

Friday also blessed us with a pretty blanket of swirling snow overnight.  Boy did that wind howl through the pine trees in our backyard!  I woke up in the middle of the night and looked outside... those giant Douglas fir tree tops were swaying pretty darn good.  It has always amazed me at how the first snowfall makes things look so fresh.... I love it!!  The cold plays havoc with my arthritis... my hips were just pounding in spite of having taken some medication... but once I got up this morning and got moving, things improved.

The past couple of weeks has seen Christmas breaking out all over my studio!  Little clay angels, the snowbabies I love to make, swirlie suckers, tiny peppermint candy and ribbon candy ornies as well as some tiny presents with bows.  Here are some photos...

 Of course I didn't stop there... had to make a few little gifts!  Here is a photo of a pretty poinsetta pin....

And some shawl pins.  These were fun to make... I like making odd shapes!  I attached them to a fuzzy collar so you can see how fun and funky they look in use!  I love the watercolor effect I achieved for the one on the right.  Don't ask me how it happened... it just did!!  You never know what you will get when you smusch clay together!

Hope this nudges you towards some Christmas creations and sends some inspiration your way this week.   There is nothing like a handmade gift for your friends and family for Christmas that says "I love you" more loudly!!!

A wonderful Thanksgiving to all my American readers this coming week!

Sharon

Haunted Halloween House... and a Fun, Ghostly Tale

Happy Halloween everyone!  This week I have a fun, ghost story from the Pacific Northwest by one of my favourite "storytellers" Margaret Read McDonald AND a preview photo of the "Haunted Halloween House" I made in polymer clay and set into a frame.

What a lot of fun it was making this house!  Our friends, Scott and Sandy, are great Halloween fans and go all out with decorating their yard.  It was a source of inspiration for me when putting this polymer clay house with its embellishments together.  

According to hubby, the pumpkins look downright REAL and he loves the bats swooping across the sky.  I was a little disappointed in the moon... UNTIL... I turned the lights off.  Made from "glow in the dark" clay, I was amazed at how long you could see the moon in the dark!  The windows are made from a transparency with alcohol ink dribbled on it and then backed with silver paper.  The rough frame was made from paper mache clay and then painted with metallic paints.

Of course, every haunted house deserves a spooky ghost story to go along with it.  With that in mind, here is a wonderful "true" short tale from the Pacific Northwest.

The Femme Fatale of Rosario Resort

Orcas Island, Washington

Rosario Resort on Orcas Island occupies the former mansion of Robert Moran. In 1939 the mansion changed owners and a flamboyant lady by the name of Alice Rheem took residence. Rumour has it that her husband bought the remote property as a useful place to ensconce Alice and her drinking habit. She became a familiar figure on the island, riding around on a motor scooter, often after one drink too many, sometimes dressed only in her red nightgown. And she was known to have a proclivity for handsome young soldiers, bringing them back to the mansion whenever her husband was away. Alice eventually died in the mansion, supposedly a victim of too much drink. But she seems not to have left quite yet.

As recently as 1986 Alice was causing havoc. A tired housekeeping employee bedded down in an empty room in the mansion one night rather than drive home. Just as she was dropping off to sleep, she noticed a shadow pass across the wall. Turning on the light, she saw nothing. But the shadow moved again and something touched her hand. She waited and seeing nothing was about to trun off the light and go back to bed when she felt fingers caressing her hand. The girl bolted from the hotel, tossing the key to the desk clerk. "There's something in that room!" He shrugged, put the key back on the hook, and noticed that it was midnight.

As it happened, a trio of entertainers had been staying in the room next to her that night. They complained as they dropped off their key in the morning. "How long will that woman be staying next to us?" The desk clerk assured them that she had already left at midnight, the night before. But the entertainers had been kept awake all night, they said, by her carousing. Just before midnight they'd seen the light under the door go on and off three times. then the bed began to creak and the moans of passionate lovemaking started up. they were kept awake all night. The key to the room still hung on its hook and the desk clerk hadn't given it to anyone else. The hotel staff suspect that Alice was at work.

From the book "Ghost Stories of the Pacific Northwest" by Margaret Read McDonald
(Source: Seattle Weekly writer Kathryn Robinson)

Happy Halloween!  Have fun and stay safe...

Sharon

P.S.   I decided to extend the time to get the  "Halloween Hilda" ATC Tutorial  under Current Free Trade Downloads to November 5.  If you would like this ATC tutorial package, Get it NOW as it will be retired on Nov. 5 and no longer available!!  Click on Current Free Trade Downloads link under the header at the top of this page to read how you can get this tutorial.

Celebrating my 100th Post and some *WONDERFUL* news...

It's hard to believe that I have hit the 100th Post milestone!  When I started blogging, I wondered how long it would take me to get to 100.  I wasn't sure if I was going to like blogging and figured if I did hang in there, it would probably be years and years... shows you how much I know... LOL.

So how does one celebrate their 100th post? 

First, I am certainly going to give myself a pat on the back for getting to this milestone.  PAT! PAT! PAT!  I re-discovered just how much I like to write and share my "stuff" with others and can't imagine NOT blogging.

Second, I'd like to say a big THANK YOU to those of you who have hung in there with me and to those who have signed up as followers.  Thanks  also to those who left so many wonderful comments and sent many lovely emails during that time.  I love hearing from you and boy you sure haven't disappointed me!

Third, it's been such great fun getting to know some of you better and becoming "pen pals".  That's really been a bonus I never expected... it reminds me of the many "pen pals" I had from literally all over the world when I was a kid. 

Did you ever have a pen pal?  If you did, what do you remember about that experience?  How long did you keep in touch with each other?

I certainly had a number of them.  Some lasted for just a couple of letters back and forth.  Others a little longer.  But I especially remember one of my pen pals that I corresponded with for nearly ten years... from the time I was about eight years old (my "Nancy Drew", mystery detective and writer era) until I was 18 ( head over heels in love with a young, dashing, "worldly" (or so I thought at the time) pilot... oh so terribly exciting and romantic). 

Roberta and I  never did meet during all the time we wrote back and forth.  She lived on one side of Canada and I lived on the other.  Flying across the country for a visit in those days just wasn't in the books.   Driving over 5,000 miles on a vacation didn't happen in most families (probably still doesn't).   An opportunity to meet just never presented itself.  However, over the years we became the best of buddies and shared everything! From our childhood secrets, complaints about our "horrible" siblings, our latest craft "creations" and "art" endeavours, our first crushes on boys in the next grade, our "wretched" parents who just "didn't understand" us at 14.  Oh and Elvis...and the Beatles... now my age is showing (tee hee)... just made our hearts go pitter patter!

We eventually lost touch with each other as our young lives started moving in different directions. Roberta was a year older than me, got married and had a baby. My romance came to an end abruptly and I was thoroughly heartbroken. These days, I have often wished I had saved all of our letters. Wouldn't it be interesting to read all those "missives" that passed between us during that time?  I am certain we would have more than a couple good chuckles along the way...

My *GREAT*  news...

I have some news that I am just dying to share with you!  One of my entries into the Sooke Fine Arts Festival made it into the show that will take place at the end of this month.  I was absolutely thrilled to bits... it's so hard to get into that juried show in the first place and it seems to get harder every year as they receive more and more entries vying for a spot in this premier Vancouver Island show.

The way it works is this:  You bring your art work out to the location in Sooke, B.C. (not far from Victoria) where the show will be held.  In the following week all of the entries are judged by three prominent B.C. artists.  The following weekend, you make the trek back out to Sooke to get your results (to either pay the hanging fee for your art if you have been accepted and/or pick up any art work that hasn't been accepted... you can submit up to three pieces).

I wasn't sure whether or not the pieces I submitted would make it or not.  Why?  Because they were in polymer clay AND in the "steampunk" genre.  The fact is there are many artists (and judges) who don't consider anything that is not a watercolour or a painting to be art let alone mixed media or polymer clay.  And "steampunk"?  Well it's hot among mixed media artists these days but what about art show judges?

As soon as I was handed the envelope (heck, it feels like it's the Academy Awards when they give it to you), I knew.  It was thick.  That's always the clue because they enclose tickets to the Artist's reception and other information about the gift store during the show. Now I was really excited and curious... which one got in (I had submitted two polymer clay steampunk pieces)?

Holding my breath, I opened the envelope.  With hubby leaning over my shoulder for a peek, I opened the sheet of paper with the "news" on it!  YES!  A Big Hug from hubby and high 5's as we yelped with pleasure... My polymer clay steampunk piece, "If Pigs Could Fly" had made the cut.  Hubby felt pretty smug... he'd been saying for weeks is was a shoe in and uh huh, like most guys, he likes to be right!

Now, unfortunately, I can't post a photo of it today but I can promise you,  you're gonna have a chuckle when you do get to see it once the show begins.  I'll post a photo the day the show begins.  For today, let's just say, I had an absolute blast making it and just as much fun thinking about it as it came together.  I'd like to think that it brought a smile to the judges faces.  I'd also like to think that someone who attends the show and discovers it, is going to fall madly in love with it and just have to have it.

So now I have to get busy getting *stuff* ready to put in the gift store... some art cards and some Inukshuk earrings and pendants.  It seems that every time I wear my earrings and pendant, someone stops me and wants to know where I got them.  When I tell them, they ask:  "Do you take orders?"  Well I am not going to say no to that now am I?  Here's a photo of the earrings and one of the pendant... aren't they cute??? 

I think what I like about them most is that none of the "little guys" are exactly the same... they all turn out differently and I never know what they will look like until they are done.  I love that kind of mystery!

One of our kids is visiting for a couple weeks so we are off sightseeing and to the beach this weekend... it's going to be HOT, HOT, HOT...a rather unusual occurrence for this temperate part of the world but I'll take it... it's been so cool in this part of the country that I never thought summer would arrive!  Did I mention that I am solar powered???
 
Thanks for stopping by today. Have a great weekend...

Sharon

Having Too Much Fun...

Is there such a thing?  If so, I am wallowing in it!  I have been so art deprived these past couple of months that I am making up for it BIG TIME this week.

Sewing is still a little difficult since my eye operation... the close up work gives me a headache rather quickly... so I had to find something else to fill me up with "happy juice".  I decided that I would play with my clay... and get the "celebration giveaway" for this week finished up while I was at it.

I have hesitated *forever* in trying to make a face cane.  I wasn't sure how to go about it and didn't have a clue as to how it would turn out.  I found some instructions in one of my clay books and decided to take the plunge.  It took me forever to put it together (like most of the day!) and get it reduced.  Well what a laugh I had when I finally got it done... it was so ugly, it was darn near cute! 

"OMG what am I going to do with this big,  fat, homely cane?" I mused to myself.  "Well let's see if I can dress it up..."

The "ButtonLady" below was fitted with a black "wig" (with a few strands of gray) and a button bonnet with a bow.  I keeled over laughing... what a "honker" she has!  Mouthy too.  LOL. Well, she just had to have some friends, so I took a piece of the cane, reduced it down and made her some "girlfriends" to have "heart to heart" chats with.  The more I look at them, the more I smile!  I am beginning to like them... they are just so "real".   Go figure...

They need some names.  Got any ideas?  One of the girlfriends is definitely a "Shirley"!  Don't ask me why... I haven't got a clue... she is just a "Shirley"!  Can you guess which one it is? 

Let's have some fun.  Leave a comment with your name ideas for these lovely ladies and I'll throw your name in the hat for the "Celebration Giveaway" to be drawn this Friday.  If you left a comment on the previous post announcing the "giveaway", here's you chance to get your name in twice!

Which brings me to... a photo of the (finally) finished "Giveaway"!  I had something else in mind when I first announced the giveaway but then I got together with three of my clay buddies last weekend for a "clay play day" to make raku lentil bead pendants.  Well, I just had to make another one.  It turned out so nicely that I decided it was the perfect gift for the giveaway draw. 

We all forgot to put seed beads in our beads on the weekend but I didn't forget them when I made this one.  It has tiny beads inside and when you shake it, it has a very gentle rattle.  It actually has more texture on it than is showing in the photo... you know me, I'm not that great a photographer... but trust me, there is!

So there you have it!  Help me name those ladies (leave your comment below) then check back on Friday (June 11) to see if you are the winner.  I'll show you some more "stuff" that should be finished by then too.

Chat with you on Friday...

Sharon