This journal was a lot of fun to make. I never really know what the finished journal will look like until it's completely finished. Once the painting and stamping and splattering and edging is all done, I get out my  button jar and my colored threads and I lay different buttons on the journal to see which one I like the best. The color of the button and thread can change the whole look of the journal. When the button is chosen I pick the thread that matches the button. I run the thread through a piece of beeswax that I have to wax it which makes the thread slide easily when I'm binding the pages. It smells good too.

Thrift Stores!

 I dislike shopping very much, but I love going to thrift shops and looking through all the stuff there. I buy used books and Christmas decorations and mini lights. I found a really cool vintage jar and loads of buttons which I use on my journals and in some of my mixed media work. I buy clothes to recycle for the art dolls that I make. I get 100% wool sweaters that I use to make the felted slippers that I like to wear. I buy curtains and candles -- I have enough candles to last me all winter. I bought the coolest lamp yesterday and some sparkly snowflake decorations.

Some people have issues with shopping at thrift stores. I don't. I'll always find something interesting and different. I got most of my storage units and containers and baskets for my studio there, and the loveliest red curtains for my dining room -- brand new.

Last year I found several wreaths there with the electric candle in the middle, like the ones we used to hang in our windows at Christmas time. Ours were long gone so I was so excited to find these. Now both my sisters and my dad have one, and me, of course. All for very little money.

I buy brass pots for my plants and I got the nicest wool coat one year that I still wear. I go to my favorite thrift store at least once a week. I never know what treasures will be waiting for me when I walk in. :)

Here's a link to a site with  instructions on how to make felted slippers out of wool sweaters.

I've been going crazy making journals for Etsy for Christmas. They are a lot of fun to make and I get to paint as well. I make the covers in my studio and I bind the pages onto the covers in the house while I'm watching tv. 

  I will also be making some jewelry this week for the shop.

I never did finish the watercolor I started. I change my mind from one day to the next on what I want to work on. If I was an octopus I could do everything at once.

Tiddles is a little more relaxed today. Once she gets used to the noises around here she'll be fine.

Tiddles is Here!

Tiddles is here! She's really nervous and jumpy which is understandable. She bonded with my daughter, Rebecca, and follows her everywhere and sleeps on her bed.

Gennie, Roman and Ickles don't seem to be bothered by her and are going about their business as usual.

New Journal and New Cat!

 Sitting here waiting for Tiddles, our new cat, to arrive on a jet plane. She's coming to live with us and we're very excited! She'll probably be a little overwhelmed when she first gets here because we have two other cats and a dog and she's coming from a single cat household.

Simon, our cat, passed away last Friday and John just happened to wake up as he was dying, so he wasn't alone. I miss him very much. He acted like such a big, tough cat, but he was a sweet heart.

Here's a couple of images of a journal I just finished today and listed in my Etsy shop.

Jewelry!

New Jewelry!

I spent yesterday in the studio making some jewelry. It rained and rained while I was in there.

 

John bought me a new macro lens for the camera and I used it to take these photos. I love it! Thank you, John!

finally put some fairy lights around my studio window

Bacon and coffee for breakfast in the afternoon, cheesy Halloween movies on tv, overcast, windy day outside, while inside I'm here with my family. It really doesn't get any better than this.

 

  



I love weekends, especially Saturdays! Later, we'll go to Canadian Tire and I'll buy some potting soil so I can re pot my spider plant and plant some spider babies that I have in water.

Still no painting finished but I do have a clean bathroom closet and the hardwood floors have been washed.

Enjoy your weekend!

Random Photos!



Old building in Boat Harbour



John and I take loads of photos.  These photos have been taken over the last year, all of them taken, except for the Boat Harbour photo, on one of our many walks.

I have my drawing transferred onto watercolor paper which I just finished stretching. I went to the art supply store today and bought some masking fluid, some new paint brushes because I destroyed all of my good ones doing mixed media work, and a tube of yellow ochre. I know I paid too much for these supplies but I didn't want to wait to have them shipped from Curry's. Tomorrow I begin the painting. I have two drawings ready to be transferred which I will do tonight while I watch The Tudors...

Well, I wrote the above yesterday and I didn't get a chance to send it, and here it is 4:30 and I still haven't touched my painting. I did manage to get out my watercolors and practice a bit on scrap paper because it's been so long since I used them, and I couldn't possibly paint in the mess that I call a studio.

I had the car today and it's a sure thing that if I have the car I'll make three or four trips into town before the day is through. Being in traffic wears me out and pisses me off, so by the time I reach home I have a headache.

I did get another couple of drawings transferred to watercolor paper last night while watching my show, and I went through my Christmas magazines to pick out crafts to make for the upcoming holiday season. I love doing that every year.

Work In Progress!

I've been working on this doll a little bit here and a little bit there. I have to finish her hands and glue her into the wooden stand after I paint and varnish it (the stand).

I need to practice sculpting faces some more. I can see from some of the photos that her nose is quite crooked and her eyes are looking in different directions. :)

Her face and neck are sculpted from polymer clay. She has a soft body over a wire armature. I hand dyed the cloth for her dress and robe. Except for a little decorative stitching around her hood she is entirely hand stitched. It takes some time but I really enjoy it. Her face and eyes have been painted with oils and acrylics and her hair is made from wool. I have real doll hair in blonde, brunette and red, but I prefer the wool. She stands around 22 inches tall.

I haven't chosen a name for her yet nor do I know her story. It will come to me eventually when I'm vacuuming or washing the dishes.

Last night I started a drawing for the first watercolor I have done in over a year or more. It will become my Christmas card for this year. I hope I still remember how to paint!

Cleveland





 A lot has happened in my life since these photos of our trip to California in August were taken. Some good and some bad.

I haven't had a lot of time to spend in my studio and there are so many things that I want to do in there. Sometimes I think I would like to go away somewhere by myself for a month and just paint.

Two of my beloved cats have died, Hermione and Cleveland, and I miss them so much. A third cat, Simon, a stray that we took in three years ago is ill. Although Roman and Ickles are healthy and well it seems so quiet around here. We have decided to adopt a new cat, Bailey. She belongs to a friend of ours who can't keep her anymore. She lives in Alberta and will have to be flown here. I'm so excited!

Me standing in front of a giant redwood tree

I also made the decision in May to go gray. I woke up one morning and realized I did not want to dye my hair anymore. Here's a great website, Going Gray Looking Great that has made my transition so easy.

I'm looking forward to the cooler days and longer nights and time spent working on dolls and painting and making new jewelry, and nights cuddled in bed with a good book. :)

And we're not moving to Omaha!

John and I on a hike through the redwood forest.

Jewelry!

Life is very busy! I'm getting ready to take a much needed break with John to San Francisco. We'll explore the coast and relax and drink wine and explore some more. I really can't wait! :)

New Jewelry!

Have a great weekend!

I'm Back!

Today I signed up to participate in The Sketchbook Project! You can follow the link and sign up too! It looks like a lot of fun!

The summer is progressing nicely although it got off to a late start. I've been painting, sculpting, making jewelry and sewing in my studio and not photographing any of it or updating my blog.

I've been reading the poetry of Mary Oliver and I am almost finished this book, Sing Them Home. I bought the book because the story is situated in a fictitious town in Nebraska and my family and I may be moving there within the next six months! I also liked the image on the cover. If I like a book cover I will pick it up and read the back and if it sounds interesting I will buy it. I have about twenty books that I am currently reading, fiction and non-fiction.

I just got this treasure of a book in the mail and am working my way through some of the projects. I love getting things in the mail, don't you?