How to create a French Bistro Cafe...

Take One Black Photo Box

+

One Favourite Art Calendar

then

create two French Waiter stand up "photo dolls"

and

A minature table with bread, wine glasses & cheese

Mount old ceiling tin to the ceiling

Paper the walls and lay a "tiled" floor

Add baseboards around the inside of the box

Add a recessed picture window wall

Glue an outdoor scene to the back of the box

Mount Mucha Art on the walls

Electrify the box with real lights

Plug the lights in and admire your creation

Meet Monsieur Edgar

and Monsieur Henri

Come join me in my Paris bistro for wine & cheese!

I adore the whimsy of Guy Buffet's art, especially his French restaurant scenes! This is my tribute to this wonderful French artist who brings a wide smile to my face and a chuckle to my heart.

It is also my personal "memory shrine" of many wonderful days, weeks and months spent in

• funky Paris bistros drinking coffee and eating Petit Pain au Chocolat (brioche dough baked around a piece of chocolate);
• lunching on the steps of Sacre Coeur Cathedral on warm, sunny, spring days;
• skipping merrily along the left bank of the Seine;
• experiencing pure joy in my heart in my many wanderings through the Louvre;
• feeling mesmerized and deeply moved by the majestic sounds of the organ in Notre Dame Cathedral;
• smacking my lips in total delight sampling the delicious cuisine and wine of Alsace;
• the experience of true freedom flying gliders in the Loire Valley each summer;
• singing the French children's song "Le Pont d'Avignon" at the top of my lungs the first time I saw the bridge at Avignon and
• admiring, for hours and hours, the simply magnificent windows in the Chartre Cathedral.

Till we meet again...

Sharon

Much Ado About Mucha - Part 2

The Shopping Face Off…

The sport of ANY KIND of shopping with hubby is like a face off in a hockey game. The puck drops. You’d better be paying attention and ready to move fast.

GO!

I was. Around the corner and into the first “room” of the antique store I went… lickedy split. It took exactly one minute for me to spot something that caught my eye.

Sitting on the corner of a lovely old sideboard were four small, elongated white boxes. The writing on them was in German, which immediately drew my attention. Although my spoken command of the language has become rusty over the years from a lack of opportunity to use it regularly, I can still read and understand it almost as easily as I do English. Not bad for a “Heinz 57 kid” with a Scots-Irish-French-Swedish background huh? (The truth is I lived in Germany for a number of years in my 20’s and 30’s and became fluent in the language while living there.)

The manufacturer’s “mark” and name on the outside of the box read “Hutschenreuther Porzellan”, a name I recognized as a German maker of fine porcelain. Next to the writing was an art print of an artist I could recognize from a mile away – Alfons Mucha.

Both my husband and I are longtime Mucha fans. A number of years ago, we purchased some beautiful museum quality prints at a showing of his original works in the Raleigh, North Carolina Art Gallery. We had them framed as a grouping and have enjoyed these gorgeous prints on our “art gallery wall” in our living room ever since.

Alfons Who?

Allow me to digress for a moment and give you some background on Alfons.

As a struggling and relatively unknown Czech artist living in Paris, Alfons Mucha achieved immediate fame when, in December 1894, he accepted a commission to create a poster for one of the greatest actresses of the time, Sarah Bernhardt. Though the printer was apprehensive about submitting Mucha´s final design because of its new, unconventional style, Miss Bernhardt loved it. So did the public. ´Le style Mucha´, as Art Nouveau was known in its earliest days, was born.

The success of that first poster resulted in a 6 year contract between Bernhardt and Mucha. In the following years, his work for her and others included costumes and stage decorations, designs for magazines and book covers, jewellery, furniture and numerous posters. If you’re interested in finding out more about Mucha and his art, click here

Finding Hidden Treasures

I picked up the first box. It looked brand new. Carefully, I opened it. Inside was a beautiful china panel plate of Mucha’s decorative panel, “Autumn” from “The Four Seasons” series.

I called my husband over to admire it. He looked at it and liked it so much that he picked up the next box. He opened it to take a look. When he put that one down, he opened the last one, I knew these found “treasures” had captured his undivided attention.

It didn’t take us long to discover that none of panels had likely ever been mounted on a wall or sat out in a cabinet. Not a chip, fading or other “previously loved” mark was to be found anywhere. They probably hadn’t been out of the boxes they came in since the day they were originally purchased.

We chatted back and forth about them for a few minutes. The workmanship and colour in the plates was splendid. My husband was interested in determining the quality of the china manufacturer. I assured him that Hutschenreuther was on par with other china names that he could recognize…Royal Dolton, Wedgewood and Rosenthal. Neither of us had a clue whether the price ($80.00 for the set) was fair or not.

“Who cares,” said the man of the house. “Even if they aren’t old or even worth the price they want for them, I really like them. Hard to resist Mucha. They are beautiful china panels. I’ll buy them anyway. Maybe I can get a few bucks knocked off the price of the set when I pay for them.”

He picked up all four boxes and tucked them under his arm. We looked around some, then headed for the cash register desk. He chatted with the owner about the panels and ended paying $69.00 for the set. He was pleased as punch with his purchase. Within a few days, he would find out just how pleased…!

The four china panels. I am afraid they aren't the best photos in the world in spite of my efforts... and I just realized that I cut the bottom off the bottom photo when I resized it.... darn,,, and I don't have time today to re-do them. The photos really don't do them justice but I did discover that it is not as easy as I thought to photograph china!

The Sleuthing Begins…

Later on that evening, husband went on line to see if he could find out more about his newly acquired “treasures”. He didn’t have much luck other than to discover that the manufacturer, Hutschenreuther, became part of the Rosenthal division of the Waterford Wedgwood Group in 2000. That was news to me too.

A couple of days later, I decided to do some further digging for him on some of the European sites on line to see what I could find out. Being able to read in a couple of foreign languages really helps when cruising websites that don’t have a translator on them.

It didn’t take me long to find out when they were manufactured. I looked up the mark on the back of the panel. 1970… hmmm, they weren’t as new as we thought they might be.

Digging deeper, I found two expired European e-bay listings… one in France from last year and the other in Switzerland from this past spring. I did a double take. On both sites, the exact same set, same year mark, in their original boxes, had sold for more than triple what he had paid for them!

When husband arrived home from work, I told him the results of my “sleuthing” on his behalf. The look of pleasant shock on his face followed by a big grin said it all. He was excited and absolutely delighted! Not that he would ever sell them. Not that he had even got them at a bargain price. Nope. Somehow I got the sense that with his first “score” he was bitten by the “antiquing bug”.

Hmmm… I wonder how many other antique shops I could entice him into now?

Gonna close for now… I have to do an internet search. Gotta find me some antique shops around the island we can go to!

Sharon

Much Ado About Mucha - Part 1

On a recent Saturday morning, the trip to a salvage shop in search of some small, old hinges for one of my cigar box assemblages led my husband and I by an out of the way, unfamiliar antique shop.

Now anyone who is even slightly acquainted with me is keenly aware of my passion for quirky (and not so quirky) antiques. I absolutely cannot pass a “strange” antique shop and not go in! I am compelled by the antique Gods to take a peek!

“Oh look, an antique shop” said I gleefully, hopeful for even a tiny hint of a forthcoming response from the driver.

My dear husband knows when he hears “Oh look, an antique shop!” exactly what is coming next. I just shoot him the cutest smile I can muster up, flutter my eyelashes at him and say, ever so sweetly, “Oh, let’s just have a quick look!”

A Girl’s Gotta Do What She’s Gotta Do

The look on his face when he hears the words “a quick look”,“fabric store” or “antiques” coming from my mouth says it all. It is the facial expression of someone doing a silent, slightly painful, inward groan. He’d probably deny it if asked but I am pretty good at “reading” those looks after all this time!

I confess. I will most certainly use my feminine wiles and "promises"on him when it comes to browsing through antique stores. Fabric stores too for that matter! It's amazing how fast he'll pull into a shop's parking lot when the promise of a freshly baked fruit pie is up for grabs.

But don't think for a moment that he's fooled by my antics. He's not. He usually lets loose with a huge laugh when I really start digging myself into a bigger and bigger hole. I am beginning to think I'm not the "smartie pants" I thought I was.

Gosh, you'd think by now that I would remember that he's got a memory like an elephant. He never lets me forget my "desperate" promises. At the first opening, sometimes even days later, he'll make sure he holds me to it. I think he's REALLY got MY number not vice versa. Sigh!

Nice guys do finish first in my book and ya know, my husband is a really nice guy. More often than not, he is willing to indulge“his honey” on a trip down the memory lanes of an antique shop. He has always been very willing to do things for me that will bring a smile to my face. He's been known to utter that wonderful, old southern saying “When Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy” to buds seeking advice and counsel with their better halves. Bless his heart.

Now when I say indulge, that it not just a throw away figure of speech. I really mean it.

Point One…

Browsing antique or fabric stores is not an activity hubby finds very interesting or stimulating for longer than ten, tops fifteen minutes. A quick glance around and he’s ready to go. Sound familiar? It does to most of my female friends who have ever been in a relationship for longer than a month!

Fabric and antiques just aren’t his bag. Wood, tools or hardware on the other hand … a much different story. Heck he even grunts like Tim Allen on Tool Time at the sight of a router, drill press or electric drill in Rona or Home Depot. At least once a month, I hear him sadly lamenting the fact that we don’t have a Lowe’s in Victoria!

Now, most of the time he’ll be quite pleasant about my aisle cruising. He’ll either find a book he can browse through as he waits (I always cross my fingers that it is interesting enough to keep him occupied for at least a half an hour) or when his “out of patience” buzzer goes off, he’ll just leave and wait for me outside. I think he secretly hopes that his leaving will hurry me along. I pretend to not notice that he’s left the store.

Thank heavens he isn’t the grumpy type when I linger longer than what he would really like. Good thing too. I’m usually just getting started at the ten minute mark. The fact is, I could easily hang out in a larger shop for a couple of hours. I feel “duty bound” to explore every last little nook and cranny I can find. However tempting it might be at the time, I don't push my luck quite THAT far.

Point Two

Husband thinks antique stores are way over priced for “just a bunch of old stuff somebody wants to get rid of.” I have to admit, sometimes he is right about the overpricing. My experience is that often it depends on the location and the “quality” of the items in the shop. You do have to know “your antiques”. You do have to shop around to get a good and fair price. You do need to be prepared to “bargain” with the owner if you think the price is out of line. I'll be the first to admit, I'm not very good at that last one.

Point Three

The first whiff of potpourri in ANY store will turn him on his heels quicker than a jack rabbit and propel him back out the door he came in. One leap and he’s outa there. Of course at 6’2”, long legs help with giant hops GRIN! He hates the smell. It gives him a screaming headache in two seconds flat. Needless to say, I understand completely. That shop, unfortunately, gets crossed off my list.

READY? GET SET!

We pulled into the antique shop parking lot and got out of the car. Up the stairs and into the shop we went. WHEW! No potpourri. Things were looking up.

Ah… but in the back of my mind, I knew the clock was ticking. I wondered how many "hardware store trip points" I could cash in if I needed them. The cogs in my memory bank started whirling searching for an accurate point count.

~~ to be continued...

So that's it for today. Please take note of the P.S. below. Stay tuned for Part II of "Mucha Ado About Mucha" next Friday You'll get to read all about our ... uhh.... hubby's... great find in the antique shop.

Have a super weekend.

Sharon

P.S. As some of you may already know, I am a summer storyteller at one of the oldest historic homes in Victoria, British Columia - Pt. Ellice House. Next week, on both Friday and Saturday, I’ll be donning one of my beautiful Victorian dresses and a snazzy hat to match and doing a one hour “O”Reilly Family Stories” storytelling presentation (as part of the Victoria Heritage Festival Sept. 13 - 21) on each of these days at 1:00 pm.

Getting ready for these sessions is going to take up the bulk of my time next week. Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips will return on Sept. 23. Part 2 of "Much Ado About Mucha" will be scheduled for publication next Friday, the 19th.

Thanks for your understanding!

Goodbye Summer... Hello Fall

A couple of early mornings ago, I opened the door leading to our backyard patio and found a surprise waiting for me on the welcome mat.

Nope it wasn’t our neighbour’s kitty. The one who seems to think our welcome mat belongs to her. It wasn’t our “resident” raccoon either. The one who hangs out somewhere in the “mini” forest behind our house, sneaks up to our patio door and peeks through the window to see what we are up to. So what was waiting for me to discover on the welcome mat? A big, rusty coloured maple leaf ... just dropping by to let me know that it won’t be long before we all say good-bye to summer and hello to fall.

Two events always mark the beginning of the third season of the year for me. The first fallen leaf and the Metchosin country fair. I look forward all year long to the sights, sounds and absolutely delicious smells that permeate the air at this country fair! That’s where you’ll find us this weekend.

It’s an old fashioned type fair with country vendors, music, entertainment and games for the kids. But by far the best part is the salmon and lamb barbeque (roasted over open air wood burning fires) at 5 p.m.. It's quite a bargain at $12.oo a ticket! You get a big piece of salmon, big piece of lamb, homemade apple mint jelly, corn on the cob, coleslaw and a roll. This is followed by mouth-watering, delicious homemade "prize winning" pies for dessert. I understand that this year they are also going to have a cake baking contest and the prizewinners will be sold by the piece at the barbeque.

It is a great fundraising event for this little country town. One thing we have found out over the years... you gotta get there early to buy your dinner ticket! They sell out FAST, often by noon, every year.

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus

When I was a little kid, I absolutely delighted in jumping into a mountain of raked leaves in my uncle’s back yard. Now mind you, my uncle Gordon, who had just spent a couple of hours raking up that pile, made noises that he wasn’t terribly amused. Funny though, he always had a tiny smile at the corner of his lips, his eyes twinkled with laughter and he always invited me back to rake leaves with him throughout the fall. GRIN

Gathering pretty leaves to make a “turkey” pasted on paper for a Thanksgiving card was a favourite childhood pastime in the fall! (Thanksgiving is in early October in Canada). Today I continue to enjoy gathering those lovely autumn “flowers” to use in my “grown up” art. Here is a digital collage I created this week with the leaf I found on my doorstep and scanned into my computer...

How to Preserve Autumn Leaves in Beeswax

There are a number of ways to preserve fall leaves. Pressing them. Ironing them in waxed paper. Dipping them in a mixture of glycerin and water. However, over the years, the leaves I love to use in my art and collages are simply brushed with a thin coat of beeswax.

Want to wax your own leaves this fall? It’s a simple and easy process.

What you'll need:

Autumn leaves
Paper towels
Beeswax
Mini Travel Iron
1" paint brush
Melting pot or other utensil suitable for melting beeswax in
brown paper bag
large square of 1/4" plywood to protect your work surface

1. Gather leaves at their peak. I like to find fresh ones that perhaps have a little blemish here and there. These tiny imperfections add interest.

2. Sandwich the leaves between two paper towels and iron them dry but not to the point that they become brittle.

3. Heat up your pot of beeswax. You can use a melting pot with a project tray or a small aluminum pot that will fit into the base of the melting pot. You can also use an old crock pot although I find it takes forever to heat up! One of my friends told me she uses a small pot on one of the old coffee mug warmers. I haven't tried it, but if you do, let me know how it works.

One word of caution. Never heat beeswax over 140 degrees F. It can flash and start a fire! Ask me. I once nearly burnt my freshly painted, new kitchen down when I melted some candles on the stove. The phone rang in the middle of this process and I forgot all about the wax. I caught it at the very last moment and used a fire extinguisher but what a black, gooey mess my fresly painted ceiling was... we won't talk about the top of the stove! It was a real pain in the you know what to get cleaned up! I shook in my boots at that close call for weeks.

4. My “worksheet” is a piece of brown paper bag on top of a large ¼” piece of plywood board. I often keep my worksheet once it is saturated with beeswax for other uses.

5. Brush a thin coat of beeswax on both sides of the leaf using a brush devoted to beeswax work only. My beeswax brush is just an ordinary 1” paint brush from the paint store that I use strictly for working with wax.

6. Lay your leaf on the brown paper. Using a mini travel iron or quilting iron (one devoted to beeswax work only) to smooth out the wax on the leaf . You're done! Wasn't that easy?

As I close for today, I’d like to wish you a lovely weekend and share with you a delightful quote about the seasons by Stanley Horowitz that really says it all:

"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all."


Sharon

P.S. Remember to get your entry in for the “Recycling Brainstorming Contest” (see Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips from Sept. 2 for details) and the chance to win a mini shopping spree at After Midnight Art Stamps! Deadline is midnight (your time zone), Sunday, Sept. 7.

Playtime – A ReCycling Brainstorming Game - Win a Mini Shopping Spree

Two of my biggest pet peeves used to be the “over packaging” of consumer goods (a tiny bottle in a large box) and “blister” packaging (everything from beads to high end headphones). Then I discovered mixed media art and those pet peeves turned into “yippee… more stuff I can use and it’s FREE”.

Now, mind you, when I received a whole box of fruit packaging trays from a neighbour (I had asked her to save those kind of trays for me), it was just a tad bit of recycling “overkill”! A couple would have sufficed… but 20? I don’t think so!

We mixed media types are the self appointed “queens (and kings)” of recycling! We’ll find a way to use just about anything that we can find in our own (and our neighbour’s) recycling box!

Now I don’t know about your neighbourhood but in mine the majority of recycling boxes are filled to the brim with all sorts of goodies like egg cartons, cardboard, juice boxes, plastic blister wrap and cereal boxes. Some folks even have two or three recycling boxes. I just have to close my eyes and keep on truckin’ when I go past them on recycling day. I think of all that potential FREE “art material” going to the landfill and I have to wipe a tiny tear from the corner of my thrifty eye!

Thrifty Artists UNITE…

Your mission this week, should you choose to accept it, …BIG GRIN… is to do some brainstorming about how you can re-use the mountains of FREE "packaging" material that comes into your neighbourhood every week.

No, no, you don’t have to go pawing through your neighbour’s recycling box and embarrass the heck out of your kids or your family. Just take a sideways peek at it as you drive by on recycling day or drop by for a neighbourly visit and tell them you are on a scavenger hunt (well you are kinda…) and oh, while you are at it, take a good long look at your own box in the garage. Now think about how you could re-purpose some of that lovely “stuff” into your art.

Below are 20 sentence finishing prompts to get your “recycling” wheels a movin’ and shakin’… They don’t have to all be filled in but the more you can complete with one or more of your ideas, the higher the probability of you winning the contest!

1. Save those envelopes and …
2. Save those plastic drink bottles and
3. Save those meat/fruit trays and
4. Save those egg cartons and
5. Save those cardboard inserts and
6. Save those flat styrofoam pieces and
7. Save those bottle caps and
8. Save that clear plastic blister packaging and
9. Save those canning lid inserts and
10. Save those old business cards and
11. Save those tags on new, store bought clothes and
12. Save those plastic shopping bags and
13. Save those brown paper grocery bags and
14. Save those small juice boxes and
15. Save those gift bags and
16. Save those elastic bands and
17. Save those cereal boxes and
18. Save those small plastic starter plant pots and
19. Save those soft drink pull tabs and
20. Save those tea bags and

How to Enter This “Re-cycling Brainstorming Game” Contest

Copy and paste the above prompts into an email . Finish the sentence fragments with as many ART uses or ART re-purposing ideas that you can think of as quickly as you can.

Now go have a cup of coffee or tea, read a book or do something else for 10 minutes. I’m betting that more ideas pop into your head for those sentence fragments that you missed. Add these new ideas to your “list”.

Get your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews involved. Ask your neighbours. Call your mother. Brainstorm with your best friend. The whole idea is to have fun coming up with lots and lots of practical and useable ideas. You are guaranteed a few good smiles along the way! If you really get into this, you’ll likely stumble across some bizarre or downright strange ideas that make you laugh!

When you are ready to submit your entry, count up the number of "ideas" you have come up with, put that total IN THE SUBJECT of your email along with your name. Please remember to include your email address somewhere in your email. Click send, then cross your fingers that you win!

The Best Part is here… WIN a Mini Shopping Spree!

The more ideas you can think up, the better BECAUSE the person with the highest number of ideas WINS the Recycling Brainstorming Game Contest! In the event of a tie, the “timestamp” of the received email will determine the winner.

If you are the lucky winner, Linda Hanson of After Midnight Art Stamps has very generously offered to award YOU with a $10.00 gift certificate for a mini shopping spree in her online store! Wander on over to her site and check out some of the cool stuff that this lovely lady has to offer in her “shop”. Lately I have had my sights set on some Radiant Rain daubers, some more Midnight Art Glass and the teapot stamp to add to my “studio spot” drawers!

The contest closes at midnight (your time zone) on Sunday, September 7, 2008. I will announce the winner in the September 9th posting of Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips. So make sure you check back to see if you are the winner!

All practical and useable ideas I receive from participants in the contest will be sorted, compiled and shared with blog readers in upcoming editions of Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips.

Please take a minute to add a comment to the comment section of this posting! I’d love to know what you think of this contest idea and the chance for you to win a prize!

See you Friday! Get those thinking caps on….LOL

Sharon

P.S. Please note that I am not affiliated in any way with After Midnight Art Stamps nor will I receive any monetary compensation from them for this contest. This is strictly a generous offer made by Linda because she loved the idea when I told her about it! Your email address will be kept confidential and not shared by me or Linda with anyone without your prior consent.

Copyright 2008 Dr. Sharon House http://www.mystoryart.com/

Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips - More GREAT Storage Tips...

More tips from my (diminishing) pile of post it notes LOL

1. Use a see through, pocket organizer (used in closets to store gloves, shoes, purses, etc.) to store some of your art supplies. It holds a tremendous amount of “stuff”. You might be able to find one at a thrift store for just pennies, so check it out.
2. Modular, hanging shoe/sweater organizers with shelves is another idea for storage, especially if you live in an apartment or have a minimum amount of space for storing art supplies.
3. Re-purpose a counter top paper towel holder for ribbon, yarn, etc. Slide the spools of ribbon onto the dowel and voila you now have a counter top ribbon dispenser.
4. If you are even just slightly handy with a sewing machine, make a fold up, portable organizer with zip lock bags and fabric. If you don’t want to go to the bother of cutting fabric, a ready made placement works great. Click here for a pattern and how to instructions.
5. Got an old 3” school binder hanging around not being used? Purchase some large pencil organizers to fit the three ring binder and use them to store ink pads, chalks, pastels, drawing pencils, tubes of glue, eyelet punches, paper piercers, etc.. It’s amazing how many of these organizers you can get into a binder!
6. You can make your own binder organizers with Zip Lock bags. Just take the gallon sized bags, fold over the ends (the bottom of the bags) a couple of times. Sew twill tape along this edge to reinforce it. Punch holes into it with a three ring binder punch. Great for storing cut outs, collage images, small bits of scrap paper left over from a project.
7. Use empty cassette tape holders/CD holders to store smaller stamps, postage stamp embellishments, etc.. If you have one of the old wall cassette/CD storage holders, you can keep them all neatly stored on the wall next to your art table.
8. If you own one of the die cutting machine, use old floppy disc cassettes to store your dies and/or small die cuts you have cut out.
9. Use a plastic, portable file folder box with file folder holders for storing card stock, paper. An old file cabinet works great for not only storing paper but as a place to keep all of your art supplies together in one place. Large glue bottles, spray paint cans, gesso, oversized bottles and tools such as a hot glue gun, soldering iron, heat gun and hair dryer will fit nicely into the drawers if you partition them off with the adjustable drawer partition in most file cabinets.
10. A heavy plastic hairdryer/curling iron rack that mounts on the wall is handy for storing your art hair dryer and (depending on the size) a soldering iron close by. Check out the different types of bathroom holder racks to find one that can hold your heat and glue guns.
    
    

Storage Tips from blog readers…

A BIG thank you goes out to all for submitting their tips for this week's edition of Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips. Each of them will receive a zip file of old scanned photographs as a thank you gift from me.

Lela of Striving for Simplicity says "I keep my flowers, brads, eyelets, and buttons together by color in bead boxes. I got the boxes on sale for $1 each. I keep my works in progress in plastic beach tote bags. I can grab a tote and have all of the parts and supplies in one place."

Darlene of Articulation says "I have found through many years of not doing the right thing for me that I finally have a great studio and can find 98% of what I want to find. The reason for this is clear containers, iris carts and more, more, more clear containers. Large, small, drawer boxes and containers!!!

Round laundry baskets are great for long sheet of handmade papers or anything long that you can wind up. Altoid boxes for beads and embellishments, glue item on the outside.
Magazine holders for tablets of watercolor, sketch and other art tablets."


Debbie Baker of My Abundant Life says "My number one storage solution is zip-lock plastic bags - I have a large cane basket (well several actually) that is full of these bags - each is filled with items of a particular sort - white laces, paper scraps, small fabric pieces, trims, ribbons etc etc and it makes it very easy to see them but to also control them, both of which are extremely necessary for creativity, at least for me."

Alex sent this tip: Harbor Freight Tools has a plastic container w/a lid that is attached and lifts. Inside there are 9 or 12 small plastic boxes w/lids. Some are round and some are square, depending on your needs. It is 5X9. I paid about $3.00 each.

Dee says "I save the cartons that you get bottles of Starbucks Frappicinos in and use these to store my pens and markers, and decorative scissors etc.

Cindy of Cynthia Powell had a very useful disposal tip for those sharp knife blades...
"I use an old medicine/prescription bottle to collect dull pins & exacto knife blades that can’t go directly into the trash. When the bottle is full, it and the contents can be disposed of safely.

Well that's it for today!

NEXT WEEK: Playtime! A BRAINSTORMING GAME Stop by for the details. It will be fun and sure to generate lots of ideas we can all use in our art.

Have a great week... see you Friday!

Sharon

Four Letter Words + a Mini Blog Contest Giveaway...

Ah Friday again... the week has gone by very quickly. It's hard to believe that August has almost come and gone!

Do you like typefaces? I do! I have always had a weakness for funky alphabet letters and vintage typefaces! When I was a kid, I would sit and cut out the letters in magazines... usually the ones that had the recipe my mother wanted on the other side... and make beautiful posters with letters! Had I been born in the early 1900’s I might well have become a typesetter. I absolutely adore the big, old wooden letters, stained with ink from years of use. The grungier, the better as far as I am concerned.

Old, antique typewriters are another favourite. My friend Karen, whose father was a journalist, has a wonderful collection of old typewriters that I just covet!! Unfortunately, we moved around so much (read: keep your stuff to a minimum) that I never did get a collection started. Now they are getting more and more difficult to find or are too expensive for my collection budget! Sigh....

So, that said, it’s not at all surprising that my entry into this year’s Sooke Fine Art Show called “Just My Type” SOLD! A four letter word that was music to my ears! As I mentioned in an earlier post, I had completely forgotten to take a photo of it before I entered it. DUH! However, I received permission to go to the show and take a photo for posterity’s sake! Unfortunately the lighting wasn’t that great for photography and we had to shoot upwards to get it. You can see a photo of it, along with some of the process in creating it, later on in this missive.

Speaking of four letter words…

leads me to my latest project called “Four Letter Words”. No, no, not the obnoxious ones (you know which ones I mean)… the good ones… like LOVE, GRIN, WINK, HUGS and everyone’s favourite XOXO! But I am getting ahead of myself.

FLASHBACK… A couple of months ago

The day I came home with a BIG box of blocks that I found at the thrift store for a whole two bucks, my husband wondered if I was … uhhh…off my block… or, at the very least, about to enter my second childhood. Of course, what he has perhaps failed to realize, even after all these years is that I never really left my first childhood! SURPRISE!

When I saw the aforementioned box of blocks, forlornly tucked away on the bottom shelf of the bookcase in the kid’s section of the thrift shop, I knew I had to have them. I had no clue as to what I would do with them but I just knew they had to come home with me. I snatched the box off the shelf and tucked it under my arm. Protectively clutching my prize, I made a beeline for the cashier.

“Oh, are you buying these for your grandchildren?” asked the sweet young thing at the cash.

“No, they are for me.” I secretly wanted to see the look on her face at that remark. I wasn’t about to explain.

The look was priceless! Her jaw dropped as she made a herculean attempt to not burst into roaring laughter. She politely rang up my purchase. She was having a hard time trying to keep a straight face as she handed me my change..

Yep…it was obvious. She too thought I was off my block. I’m bettin’ she had a rip roaring good time at coffee break telling all her fellow work buddies about that “ditzy blonde” who came into the store and bought some blocks for herself. Hey, it made her smile and was probably the highlight of her day!

More on the blocks in a bit….

Fast Forward

Some of my best ideas come when I am doing water aerobics at the pool. Sounds nuts I know but when you are bored to tears with the same old routine time and time again, a gal has to do something to save her sanity. So I think about ART. I take a mental inventory of my “stuff”, think about what I can do with it and go looking for “the story”. How's that for multi-tasking???

While I was at the pool doing my thing yesterday (trying to keep my mind off my one arthritic hip that was creaking and groaning), I eavesdropped on the conversation going on in the “chatty club”. One of the women remarked that she was just thoroughly disgusted with some of the language she hears from young people on the bus every day.

“I just wish they could find some other four letter words instead of THAT ONE!” says the spry and spunky 80 year old sweetheart member of the “chatty club”!

DING! DING! DING! The bells went off in my head as I made a connection to “a story”. When I was working full time in my practice, I used to challenge some of my clients to my list of forty, four letter words. The object of the game was to see how many of them they could use in their daily life between appointments. It was a “game” they really enjoyed with terrific results.

WHACK! BANG! Those blocks… remember those blocks? They popped into my head. EUREKA… I had my next project.

I started “Four Letter Words” yesterday morning after I got back from the pool. Here’s what they look like so far… OOPS, you can even see some of the glue that hasn't dried yet!




My plan is to make 25 of them. They will be covered in vintage paper, then inked. I have some very old book pages in old German type, some nice pages in Dutch, some French and English dictionary pages. The finished blocks will all fit nicely into a cigar box that I have. Once they are done, I will alter the box. The box will be able to stand on its own and display a different “four letter word” on top of the box (imagine that the blocks they are on right now is the cigar box just much taller and "decorated"). The unused letter blocks will be stored in the box.

MINI BLOG CONTEST GIVEAWAY…

Want to win a copy of my list of forty, four letter words PLUS the file of the vintage type letters I’ll be using to create them? Just leave me a comment about this posting IN THE COMMENT BOX and check back next Friday. I will draw three names and announce them on Friday. If you are a lucky winner, you will have to send me your email address so I can send the package to you in a zip file. So make sure you check back to see if you have won and then get in touch with me.

Lastly, as promised… “Just My Type”


“Just My Type” came to me, fully formed in a “pool” vision. I could hardly wait to get home to start working on it.

Mind you, it didn’t turn out to be exactly the way I originally envisioned it. I ran into a few little glitches… I couldn’t find some of the “stuff” I wanted for it. In my vision were some old wood letters. When I couldn’t find what I wanted, I decided to heck with it. I did some research, then made my own. Couldn’t find an old typewriter tin either… so I grabbed a block of wood and an image I had had on my computer for literally years and made my own. The paper in the background is authentic antique paper. It’s the editorial page from the Ladies Home Journal, April 1907 edition. The calligraphy pen and nibs have been kicking around “my stash” for the better part of darn near 30 years! It was a fun piece to do. It came together almost effortlessly. I was pleased as punch with the results. I am sure that it is hanging in a special place on the wall of someone who loves and appreciates it as much as I did in bringing it to life!

Well this posting sure made up for the short one last week! Thanks for your patience in reading this far…CHUCKLE!

Thanks AGAIN to all those who have submitted tips for Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips next Tuesday. I have been so busy “arting” that I have barely looked at my email. So if you have emailed me you may not hear back from me until next week. The weekend is upon us and my husband and I will be away. But rest assured, once your tip is published, you will receive an email from me with a scan of four old photographs. So please make sure when you send in a tip that you also give me your email address.

Tootles for now… see you Tuesday. And if you think you really shouldn’t go messing around with your art stuff right now because…..because…. because….you are hereby given permission to goof off for a bit and go make some art…LOL Blame the unwashed dishes in the sink on me!

Sharon

Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips - Storage

Storage Tips for Embellishments, Beads, Ribbon, Craft Knives and (other) Small Stuff

1. Purchase a multilayered tackle box. It’s perfect for small embellishments, it’s portable and easy to store.

2. A pill organizer or empty spice jars are perfect for storing brads, eyelets, snaps, small jewels, etc.. You can sort them by colour and size.

3. Empty, junior size baby food jars are super for buttons sorted by colour or size.

4. A multi-drawered woodworking workshop container for nuts, bolts and screws is a terrific organizer for x-acto knives, blades, bone folders, small tubes of glue, metallic pens, tweezers, erasers, etc.. Just make sure that the drawers are deep enough (i.e. about 6.5 inches)

5. Save those toilet paper and paper towel rolls! Wind your ribbon and/or lace around them and secure ends with a pin or tape. Multiple rolls will fit nicely in a shoe box.

6. If you have ribbon that comes pre-rolled on cardboard with a hole in the middle, purchase a long piece of doweling that will fit the hole and a couple of mounting brackets. You can then mount the doweling under a shelf, place all of your rolls on the doweling and you will be able to just “spin” off the amount of ribbon you need. Alternatively, you can rig up a shoe box in much the same way or thread the toilet paper/paper towel "ribbon/lace" holders from tip 5 onto the doweling holder.

7. Another idea for ribbon storage is to take a plastic hanger, cut through the plastic (about an inch down from the top) and thread your rolls onto the hanger. You can then hang it in a closet!

8. Old prescription bottles make nice little containers for small embellishments. Glue a sample on the lid and you will be able to use the coloured prescription bottle containers as well.

9. Ice cube trays (as a drawer organizer) or empty styrofoam egg cartons are another way to store small embellishments such as photo corners, paper clips, jingle bells or small gems.

10. Store your craft knives in an empty can! Cut a piece of Styrofoam to fit the bottom of the can to hold the knife (and not damage the blade). If you wrap an elastic band around your craft knives, they will “stay put” on your art table.

More ideas from blog readers…

A big thank you to my playmates this week, Moonwillow, Nelly and Susan for submitting the following tips for this week’s Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips. Take a minute to visit their blogs and say thanks. I am sure they will appreciate it! They will each receive a page of old scanned photos they can use in their personal art as a thank you gift from me!

Moonwillow at The Starving Artist Blog sent these ideas:

For storing bottles of all the stuff I use a lot… glue, glitters, re-inkers, black paint, white paint, etc., I use a small lazy susan on my table. I picked it up at the junk store for 1.00 and it works great. ... I just added a shelf to my table (6ft long) and I am looking for baby food jars to use just like men do with the nails, screw, nuts and bolts. I will attach the lids and put my stuff in like beads, charms, etc. and screw the jars on to store right within reach. The shelf is held up with little plastic bins that have been secured together and bolted on. It added height and doubled my shelf space. I got a bunch of plastic shoe boxes at the dollar tree to put stuff in...


Nelly at Bella Nelly Paperworks says:

I repurposed a pampered chef spinning utensil holder to hold scissors, brushes, some punches, pencils, rub on sticks. Also, a pampered chef item is their stone wooden rack. I use it to hold magazines/books I keep close to my desk to refer to. They're both very handy and I love to use unusual items to store my things. Here's a pic of the utensil holder:
https://pamperedchef.com/graphics/products_425/2171_v.jpg

Susan at When I am Laughing says:

My friend and I recently found "See and Store" containers, which would be great for embelishments, beads, eyelets, etc. These round plastic containers have magnets on the bottom. They stick to the provided metal stand. The stand is great, because it is shaped sort of like an angled L and sits up on the small end, so takes up less space. The small end of the L can be screwed on to a counter top or table as the set up comes with the screw. I found these at the container store, but they were on sale, and I still consider them thrifty because the set up saves space. If you shop at a container store or office store, always check the clearance section. It often has items that can be repurposed for art storage.

Thanks for checking in today. Please leave a comment if you have found these tips helpful! I appreciate your feedback and it helps me gauge what to do more of, less of or eliminate!

Next week’s theme

Still More Storage Ideas. Click here to send your ideas along to share with your fellow artists!




10 Post it notes down… many still to go! LOL. See you Friday!

Sharon

Time for a Tale...

Today’s post is going to be short and sweet! The weather forecast is calling for a gorgeous day, so guess where I am going? Yep, I am going to answer the call of the waves and head off to the beach to spend the day with me, myself and I. It has been a busy week and a day at the beach reading, snoozing, nibbling on some fresh peaches, snoozing and dreaming is just the break my creative spirit wants!

Hmmm… thinking about the beach, water and sun brings to mind a tiny tale from ancient Greece that I love. It's about a sea nymph named Clytie. Would you like to hear the tale? I think you'll enjoy it... It's my adaption of a tale told by storyteller Heather Forest.

The Sunflower

Now Clytie was one of the fifty daughters of the sea god Nereus. She lived at the bottom of the sea. She was a pretty sea nymph who wore a beautiful green flowing gown woven of seaweed. She had long golden hair that floated lazily to and fro about her as she moved gracefully from place to place along the sea floor.

One day, one of her mermaid friends sang a song to her about a golden light above the water. Well, Clydie was so curious, she just had to go see it right away. She swan to the surface of the sea and climbed onto the shore. She looked up and saw the golden light, just as her mermaid friend had described it to her in the song. Why the golden light was the sun!

All day long, Clytie lay happily on the shore just gazing at it. As the sun began to set, she turned towards the sea and as she did so, she saw her reflection in the water. Her beautiful golden hair had become yellow petals! And her green gown, why they had become leaves. Her tiny feet had become roots and buried themselves down in the warm earth. She had become a sunflower, a small image of the sun she had grown to love that day.

And do you know that to this day sunflowers turn on their stems all through the day so they can gaze upon the sun as it travels across the sky.

Sunflower photo courtesy of Public Domain Photo

Isn't that a sweet story? I am so glad that Clytie was curious! Everytime I see a sunflower, I think of her and that little story.

Before I close for today... thanks again to everyone who has sent storage ideas for next Tuesdays Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips blog entry! Keep those ideas coming folks... the more the merrier. Personally, I could use some help with good storage tips... my art room is overflowing! So take a minute to put an email together and send your ideas and solutions to me. Thanks a bunch.

See you next week... have a wonderful weekend.


Sharon

Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips

Okay, I’ll be honest… I am notorious for writing down tips I find online on a slip of paper with the intention of transferring them to a notebook for future reference. Well that “transposition” activity rarely happens. You know what they say about good intentions, don’t you? Yah, well my road to the “hot place” is paved with a gazillion post it notes.

Most days they are just stuck to my computer screen. But a funny thing happens. On those rare occasions when I actually *seriously* think about transferring all those lovely tips into a handy “art table” reference book, those post it notes just mysteriously disappear! Not into my book mind you. Not even the garbage can. Nope. They just wander, all by themselves over to that comfy, remote spot on my desk I rarely look at. Yep… out of sight… out of mind!

Oh, I tried doing the “computer thing”. Every time I found a useful art related tip, I would put it into a file in the computer. Then one day my computer suffered a terminal crash. You know the rest of the story.

Not to be undone by technology, I prevailed… I started a new file. Put in a couple of tips I found. Next time I went to open the file, I couldn’t remember the name of the darn file or even where I had “filed” it. That was when I first noticed “senior moments” !

Fast forward….

To be truthful, my true motivation behind starting Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips is self serving. However, it also has a good, healthy, higher purpose in mind mixed into the brew! I figure that if I start sharing my post it note tips with you, I will always be able to
a) find the tips when I want them by printing each “issue” of Thrifty Tuesday Tips for my art table reference book
b) rid myself of the post it notes littering my computer screen and desk
c) learn, do or discover something new IF ….
d) you are kind enough to share your tips with me.. SO
e) we can ALL benefit by having our “collective knowledge” stored online in one spot!
f) perhaps you will be inspired to make a handy art table reference book for yourself too!

An invitation….

I’d love to find some playmates! Do you have some tips you’d like to share? Would you like to play along with this thrifty tips idea in my sandbox? If yes, then…

Over the next couple of weeks, I’d like to tackle some “do it yourself” ideas around the one bug-a-boo of most mixed media artists – STORING OUR STUFF. Paper, embellishments, glues, mediums, trinkets, paint… oh the list is long!

Please consider sharing YOUR STORAGE TIPS by taking a moment to send them to me along with your name, blog/website address and a sub category suggestion in the subject line of the email (i.e. paper, glues, paint, etc.). I will sort them and include them in upcoming Thrifty Tuesday Art Tips!

So what kind of tips make your thrifty heart go pitter patter? Here’s what gets my heart a flutterin’…

If you have been doing mixed media for any length of time, you know this one. We could go broke in the wink of an eye buying stuff for our stashes! So before I go off buying more stuff now, I often look around for tips that will save me a few bucks or pull me out of a hole when I find myself in one.

I hit the jackpot the day I discovered the recipe for making my own stamp cleaner. I ran out of a small bottle I had purchased at the stamping store right in the middle of a project. My “art budget” for that month was sadly lacking in funds. I discovered how to make a great stamp cleaner for a tiny fraction of what a commercial cleaner costs and fortunately I had all of the “ingredients” on hand. Didn’t have to spend a dime!

Now besides finding tips that have the possibility of saving me a few bucks so I can go spend “what I saved” on something else (Oh, I know that sounds like robbing Peter to pay Paul but that twisted piece of logic works extremely well for the thrifty part of my personality LOL) I also like to do my bit for the environment too!

Doing my bit translates into recycling “stuff” whenever I can (using empty Styrofoam egg cartons as tiny paint pots for little jobs) or finding different ways to store all my stuff (empty mason jars for buttons, charms, etc.).

Zooming right along…

Being a believer in sharing first to encourage other to share, I am gonna “clean house” today (pun intentionally intended) I’ll start with a couple of tips around cleaning some of the “tools” you and I likely use most often…

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 to 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 6 month old granddaughter (she’s nearly four now) 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 HARDENED BRUSHES

I could just kick myself in the butt every time I forget to clean my glue brush when I am working on a project! I don’t know how many dried on, glue 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.

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

Sharon

P.S. HELP!!! If anyone has a tip for cleaning burnt on glue off a teflon iron, I’d sure love to hear from you. I really messed up my iron this past weekend when I accidentally put my iron down on some heat and bond I was using to adhere some fabric to a piece of cardstock. What a mess… I have tried everything I can think of to get it off and it’s still a mess!

A Thank You Gift from me to YOU...

Yesterday afternoon my curiosity got the better of me. I checked my blog visits for the past two weeks and discovered it was over 1,000! WOW! I nearly fell off my chair LOL. I adjusted my "specs" thinking I may have misread it (or needed a quick trip to the eye doctor to get my eyes checked) ... but nope those were the numbers!

My goodness gracious (ah! you can tell that I once lived in the southern U.S. can you?) in my wildest dreams I never expected all the tremendous warmth and support, wonderful visitor comments and lovely emails I have received since starting the blog a few short weeks ago. I am just delighted, humbled and (slightly... well that's an understatement) overwhelmed at such a response... it is a wonderful gift and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

I pondered all yesterday afternoon as to what I could do to show my appreciation. I must have thought of a million things... some doable... some not.... my brain was definitely working overtime. I finally settled on a download of some scans of very vintage pages from an 1889 Delineator Magazine for you to use in your personal art.

This particular issue of the magazine is very special to me. It was given to me by my storytelling friend Lori who lives in Portland, Oregon. It belonged to her grandmother, who, judging by the date of the magazine probably inherited it from her mother. Lori told me at the time time that it had sat in a trunk for years and years and even though it was literally falling apart from age, she wanted me to have it. It was such a wonderful, generous gesture on her part to gift me with this magazine... she knew in her heart I would treasure it and I surely do.

The old ads, recipes, stories, "common sense" suggestions and fashions in this publication are absolutely priceless! For someone like me who loves Victorian dresses, hats and "old stuff", it is a goldmine of information. There is even a "Studies in Fine Arts" column.

Here's something that will sound familiar to us "artsy fartsy" types:

"Glazing and Scrumbling"

A mention of Glazing and Scrumbling being made in a former chapter, we give here instructions how to do them.

Glazing is done by laying on a thin film of one color to modify the tone of the second painting. The finishing tints must all be warm in tone, light or dark, as occasion may require. Do not paint too fast and always use small brushes. Use scrumbling where it is necessary.

Scrumbling is passing an opaque tint lightly over the work. Use a bristle brush for the purpose, mixing white with whatever that is required. The brush should be lightly filled with color and drawn quickly over the surface. (Sounds like a form of dry brushing to me!)

A love for the work, a constant and faithful study of Nature and her examples and much practice and careful attention to details will insure good results." (Boy, ain't that the truth!)

There was, of course, in every magazine of the day, advice columns. The lady who wrote for the Delineator, anonymously of course, certainly had a sharp tongue in spots and she didn't mince her words either. She'd be hunted down and strung up by her pigtails on the nearest clothesline if she tried getting away with it today!

It was her "job" to warn the ladies of the day against "participating in idle talk or gossip" or giving them a "scolding" about the perils of "lacing too tightly", admonishing them in no uncertain terms for their "poor etiquette and manners" or just chattering on about everyday "acceptable" fashion to give the wearer the appearance of the "demure and dignified" and suggesting they adopt the "Puritan girl of long ago, a style that is becoming to most women... "


So there you have it ladies... I don't know about you, but I think I'll stick to my blue jeans and t-shirts for "daywear". Can you imagine sitting at a computer in a full length dress (sometimes with up to 10 yards of material in it), a dustcap (oh my!), two or three heavy petticoats, a corset, corset covers, drawers and chemise? Puritan Girl be darned... I love comfy! GRIN!

Below you will find three smaller photos of the pages I selected with the download link for the zip file. Because the magazine pages are large, I re-sampled them down to a smaller size that will fit a standard sized printer. Enjoy!!

Before you download, please remember these pages are for use in your personal art ONLY. I respectfully request that you do not post them on any website, forum, flicker, etc.. If you would like other art buddies or friends to have them, please send them a link to mystoryART and this post. Thanks for your cooperation.




Download here



Thanks again for stopping by for a visit today. May the Chinese luck of the "8ths" be with you today. See you next week...

Sharon

Little Things DO Make a Difference

Today is my hubby's birthday and I was struck again by the joy we can all bring to others just by the little things we do.

My hubby is not a morning person. He comes to life when the clock strikes 10 p.m.! Getting up in the morning is not one of his favourite activities. But he also loves a great cup of coffee. If there is anything that can get him up in the morning, (nagging has never worked with him GRIN) it's the wafting waves of java drifting towards the bedroom.

Many years ago, I discovered the secret to enticing him to get up... I just bring him a cup of freshly brewed coffee and wave it under his nose. It's actually become my secret weapon for getting him up on time for work during the week or playtime on the weekends...LOL.

This morning I added a little surprise to his coffee cup... a helium balloon with Happy Birthday on it, tied to the handle. I placed it on his nightstand, gave him a quick peck on the cheek and went rushing off to the livingroom for the next part of the "birthday surprise".

I heard a big chuckle coming from under the covers. He was awake and had discovered the balloon. That was my cue!

For the past year, I have been taking piano lessons to bring my "tinkling on the ivories" up to a new level. I will never get to Carnegie Hall... but that is not my ambition. I just want to play the songs I like and have them sound like something other than a third grader banging away on the keys producing noise! And this morning was my day to shine.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been diligently practicing "Happy Birthday". Now that might sound rather mundane... but the difference is I have set the tune to a "jazz rendition"... did I happen to mention that I like jazz???... and this morning was the debut of my piece as a birthday surprise.

Well I have to admit that I didn't get through the whole thing perfectly but the clapping and cheering from the bedroom at the end of my "mini concert" made up for a few little mistakes along the way. He was totally delighted. The grin on his face and the big "thank you" hug when he came into the livingroom was just the icing on the... uhh... birthday cake.

A happy man walked out the door this morning humming Happy Birthday and licking his lips. The smell of his favourite birthday cake... Amaretto Cheesecake... tickling his nostils, baking its way to perfection in the oven brought a BIG smile to his face!

Yep, it's the little things that money can't buy that often bring the greatest joy not only to the receiver but the giver too!

I think we can all get caught up in day to day life and forget how important it is to let people know we care about them through our actions and the little things we can do. Here's a favourite little poem of mine that I'd like to share with you today called "Before It is Too Late" by Frank Herbert Sweet.

"If you have a tender message,Or a loving word to say,
Do not wait till you forget it,But whisper it today.
The tender word, unspoken,The letter never sent,
The long forgotten messages,The wealth of love unspent:
For these some hearts are breaking,
For these some loved ones wait;
So show them that you care for them.
Before it is too late."

Go spread some love in the world today... do something little for someone you care about. I can guarantee that it will make a difference to YOUR day!

Sharon

Painting and Gel Transfers on Pellon

Happy Friday! Welcome back to Part 2 of foolin' around with pellon! Before we get started today, I'll answer a few questions that came up for some folks.

Q. What is pellon called in the U.K.?
A. It goes by the tradename of Vilene. It is a heavy interfacing used to stiffen up cuffs, collars, etc. and is available in most dressmaking/fabric shops.

Q. Can I use heavy FUSIBLE interfacing?
A. Yes you can but with a couple of provisos. If you want to print on it with a laser printer, be aware that when you fuse the pellon to the freezer paper (you need the freezer paper as a "carrier" for your printer), it will be permanently bonded to the paper and you won't be able to remove it. For some applications, i.e. cut and glue to another surface, that may be desireable. It will make your "fabric" very stiff. Remember that laser printers are hot and you don't want to get any of the "glue" on the working mechanisms of your printer. Proceed with caution!

Q. I don't have any freezer paper and can't find any in my local grocery store. Is there something else I could use?
A. Yes. Attach your pellon to a heavy sheet of plain paper (cardstock is too heavy!) with a temporary adhesive. Use sparingly... just enough to have the pellon stick to the paper. Print and then remove the paper (you may have to tug at it to get it off) Once again, proceed with caution. Be careful that the adhesive does not extend to the edge of your paper. You don't want any excess to "roll off" and muck up your printer drum or rollers.

Now on to today's fun in the sandbox... Let's start with all the art materials you can use on your printed pellon.

Q. Can I paint on Pellon?
A. You sure can. You can also use pencil watercolours, markers, oil pastels, acrylics, distress ink, blending chalk and lumiere.These are just some I have tried, there are likely more. When your Pellon is coated with InkAid or Golden Digital Grounds, they work extremely well. Spraying distress ink with a little bit of water gives an interesting effect on non treated (i.e. no InkAid)pellon surface. Alcohol ink doesn't work well on pellon. I haven't tried it yet but you could probably also dye it with strong coffee or tea. Experiment, experiment, experiment!

Here are two photos of samples I did: In the first one, the leaves are done in watercolour pencil, outlined with an ink fineliner and the "S" is done in Lumiere. In the second, this b&w print is done on a laser printer and just touched up with some Lumiere (the gold buttons) and a blue marker.

Q. I printed some pellon "swatches" on my inkjet but now I'd like to add a graphic or photo? Can I do a laser or photocopy transfer to pellon?
A. Yes, you can. Just make sure that your pellon is treated with InkAid. InkAid will settle the fibers in the pellon and create a smooth surface to work on. I haven't tried using photo transfer paper, but it might work. My only concern with this type of transfer is that your iron must be very hot to transfer the photo to the fabric. Would the pellon melt or distort? I'm not sure but it is a possibility. If you do try it, let me know! I'd be interested in hearing your results.

How to do a Gel Transfer to Pellon

Here's a photo of a cute baby that was gel transferred to a pellon swatch that I printed on my inkjet.

Print your graphic (or get a photocopy of it). Make sure that you reverse any lettering in your graphic program before printing. Cut the graphic out. Trim around it leaving the slimmest of borders.

Using your index or middle finger, LIGHTLY coat the printed side of the graphic using Golden Soft Gel. Use a light touch, in a circular motion, over the entire graphic. When the graphic is coated all over, let dry for about 5 minutes.

Repeat the process only this time notice that the gel that you are putting on slides easily but is not slippery. It takes some practice to get just the right touch and right amount of gel but once you master this, you'll never have trouble with gel transfer again! If it feels slippery, just keep spreading the gel around with your finger until it feels slightly dry to the touch.

Next spread another thin film of Soft Gel to the surface you want to transfer to. You will have to work quickly because you want the photocopy transfer to "stick" to the surface you are transfering to. Notice I said "stick", not slide! If it is sliding, you have too much gel on it. Let it dry for a few minutes and try placing it down on your pellon again.

Once your transfer is placed face down, burnish it with a bone folder or the back of a spoon to get a good bond. Be careful though... you don't want to move the transfer nor do you want to tear the paper backing. Okay, now what?

Get a damp piece of paper towel and place it over the back of the transfer to soften the paper backing. Let it sit for a minute and take a peek. Do you see a mottling effect on the back of your transfer where the paper is being softened? That's GOOD! Very gently begin moving your middle finger over this softened area. You want the paper to begin rolling off to reveal the image below. Work slowly and gently. Gel transfers require patience but they are so worth it in the end!

Once your paper backing is all off, you may notice some "white fuzzies" around the edges. You can very gently work at removing these (depends on what your background colour is) or you can use a dab of Dorland's wax over the transfer to remove the last little bits and protect your transfer at the same time.

So what the heck is Dorland's wax? Well, it's one of those art supplies that I think everyone should have in their art "toolbox"... I love this stuff! Everytime I use it, I think back to when I was a kid watching my auntie dip her rag into a can of solid floor wax, spread it evenly on her hardwood floor, letting it dry and then buffing the floor with a soft cloth until it shone so brightly you could just about see your smile in it. Oh, the smell of that wax was wonderful!! Her floors were beautiful and protected from 'wear and tear' for another couple of months! Well Dorland's does exactly the same thing for your art...it gives it a wonderful finish and protects it. There are lots of uses for it. Check out some of these tips on USArtQuest.

Well that's it for today! I hope you have enjoyed this "art adventure" with me in my sandbox.

Thanks for stopping by to play. Please leave me a comment. Comments give me a way to gauge what to do more of, less of or eliminate all together.

Oh and by the way, I'd like to start an art tip of the week section and I could use your help! I don't know about you but I love reading art tips. I know lots of my art buddies do too. I think it would be great to have them all in one place, don't you? If you have any art tips that you use that could benefit your fellow artists, please consider sending them to me at sharonhouse at (@) mystoryart.com. I will certainly credit you so make sure you include your name, your website address or blog so I can include a link.

I sincerely appreciate hearing from you and many thanks for stopping by my blog! We'll have another play date soon... I promise.

Have a playful, artful weekend... see you next week.

Sharon