Snowmen, Stars, Some other Things and Cookies

Hello Readers!

Settle in with a cup of something...I'm drinking hot tea myself. I have a lot to say today.

It's been a few days since I was here. I don't have a whole lot to show for all those days but you all know me, I have to make something on a regular basis!

There was talk of marbling paper over at AFA in the altered envie group.  I showed off the papers I marbled months ago with chalk pastels.

I don't think I ever showed them off here on the blog though.  My aim is to make some marbled papers in a larger size so I can use them for end papers in handmade books that need end papers. 

I'm all for experimentation. The envelope above is made from a cereal bag. It would be great if I could remember just how I did it but I'd have to go watch that video again to remember just how it was done. Acrylics on plastic...this I know for sure, but there's more to it than that!

I put together a couple of little polish stars. I still have enough rounds made to put together a couple more of these. 

I have put lots of polish stars on my Christmas Tree this year. 

I'll do a picture post of my tree and show off all my ornaments. 

I made this little tassel from the leftover ends of the strings I used to put together the greeting card book from the last post. It isn't the best tassel I've ever made but it is a useful one nonetheless. It will end up on a chunky page or some such.

I learned how to make a six pointed snowflake.

All three are cut from a sheet of copy paper.

There should be REAL snowflakes falling on my space sometime today. The furnace has been working steadily as the temps drop outside. The weather gurus are predicting 3 to 4 inches of the white stuff today.

I'm not sure what will happen with three snowflakes. They're quite large and rather useless for anything I can think of at the moment. I might just tape them on the wall and call it good. 

I'm going to experiment with some tissue paper and making the snowflakes a tad smaller than the seven inches these are.

I made a couple of baubles.

These two pictures are of the same ball. I only made one beaded bauble. It was a pain in the patooty! Took me three days to glue all those beads to one styrofoam ball! It has a lot of empty spots that need filled in still. I believe this one is still a work in progress.

The day I started the baubles, you'll see the other one below, my sons came to see me. Both boys! :) In the middle of the night! The eldest got here just after midnight and the youngest showed up a few minutes after his brother. Neither one of them knew what the heck I was talking about when told them I had been making baubles. I thought those boys were smarter than that! :) They gave me a good laugh and learned what baubles are! It was great to see them both! The youngest was on his way home from work and stopped by cause his brother had said he was headed to my house when they spoke on the phone earlier. The eldest was coming to retrieve his bass guitar and amp so he could give it to his 10yr old boy for Christmas.

Bonus of it all? They made my day!

I've been working on some collaged envelopes. Some have been zentangled, some painted, none of them finished as of yet. 

Cats were requested.

Back on the top, front on the bottom.

Plain white envelope with acrylics, sharpie and silver marker.

The other bauble.

Yes, those are googly eyes! I love it!

2 inch styrofoam ball with googly eyes glued all over it and satin ribbon for hanging. Truth be told, this one isn't done yet either. The bottom of the ball still need some eyeballs. That's on my list for today.

My list for today is quite long. I hope I can finish all that's on it!

I played around with the duct tape a few nights ago and came up with this 3x3x1.5 inch box. It's two pieces, top and bottom. It isn't the prettiest, nor the sturdiest little box I've ever made but I did learn that duct tape will make a box if you want it to.

I found my crop o dile behind the cabinet where the scanner sits while trying to figure out why the scanner doesn't work anymore. I'd been looking for that thing for a week! I hunted high and low for it, in every room in the house! Should of known those kittens had something to do with its disappearance. They knocked it on the floor behind the cabinet when they cleared themselves a spot in front of the window in the deskroom. I'm glad to have found the crop o dile though! I need it to finish the grandkids' books for Christmas!

I also dragged out the quilling paper. Can't say I made anything out of the quilling paper because I did not. I just dragged it out, admired the pretty colors and put it back in the bag it came in and there it lays on the table by desk along with a heap of other stuff I've dragged out and did little with.

A work in progress. These are cancelled stamps glued to glass tiles with glossy gel medium. I intend to put a magnet on the backsides after the stamps are trimmed to fit the glass tiles. Like I said, a work in progress. I really don't know what will become of these. Magnets sounded like a good idea though. 

Last night while baking cookies, I made these four little snowmen from a felt santa hat. There's enough of that santa hat left to make another dozen or so of these little guys. I don't need a dozen or so of them though. They're about 2 inches tall, sewn together with crochet cotton. Their eyes are just drawn on with sharpie marker. Their little scarfs are felt tied around their necks. They are really cute and really easy to make!

Speaking of cookies.

I don't know what gets into me this time of year but I always have to make a boatload of cookies for Christmas.

Pfeffernuesse

5dozen

Carrot Cookies

5 dozen

Coconut cookies on the bottom.

3dozen

Peppermint Sugar Cookies behind.

3 dozen

Peanut butter cookies on top.

7 dozen

No Bake Chocolate Cookies on the left bottom.

5 dozen

Walnut Sugar Cookies on top left.

3 dozen

Peanut Butter Monster Cookies center.

7 dozen

Chocolate Nugguts (aka turd cookies) on right.

4 dozen

Nine different kinds and counting. Cookies are on my list for today as well. I couldn't tell you how many sheets of cookies have gone in the oven over the last three days. I can tell you however that only once I neglected to set the timer and burnt the things to a crisp! And it had to be the peanut butter monster cookies that happened to. 

I've been sorting things.

While baking cookies I decided to sort my junk. I have many jars full of junk. I thought it high time I sorted it into similar junk in each jar instead of it all just jumbled into many jars. This is the junk used in junk magnets, bottle cap kids and other art endeavors. I really don't know why one person needs all this junk....but one person has it. If I weren't disgusted with the E6000, I'd make some junk magnets while baking cookies this afternoon. I am disgusted with the E6000 so that probably won't happen. I'm on bad terms with the E6000 because the last 2 tubes I've opened of it dried up before I was even finished with the entire tube. The only way to get the rest of the glue out of the tube is to cut the tube open. To do that will ensure I'm never going to use that half a tube of glue that will be left open to the elements if I cut the tube open. I don't know why it won't just come out the end of the tube. It isn't like I haven't tried to unclog the tip...I've jabbed every pokey tool I own down that hole only to get it flowing for a bit and then it's clogged up again. I simply don't have the patience to fight the E6000 today.

Behave yourselves as best you can! Remember Santa is watching!

Thanks for reading today!

Be good to one another!

It matters!

Peace

831

A Bunch of Envies, 2 Books, Some painting of paper and a bit of mischief from the new kids on the block

Hello Readers!

Thanks for stopping by! Go get a cuppa something good and settle in for a spell. This post is heavy on pictures and scattered with chatter. 

I've not done any artwork since the day before yesterday when I finished the greeting card book and did a few little paintings. My left arm is not cooperating at all! We'll see how long the chatter can last till the arm says no more! 

Envelopes have been on the radar lately. I have more of these in the works; both physically and mentally. I love doing these collage envelopes!

I have more envelopes than one person should admit to having. Envelopes of every size you can imagine. and if I happen to need one a size I don't have...not a problem! I will make one out of whatever is available to make one out of. My envelopes in this post are in a range of sizes. Some started out as business envelopes that I have a ton of or they are from my own mail. Envelopes sent with requests to return them. If I don't have to return it, it goes to the drawer with the other hundreds of envelopes there gotten throughout the year.

The collage envelopes start out with a large cigar box full of images cut from magazines and junk mail. There is no rhyme or reason to the images in the box. In another smaller cigar box is more smaller images that have no rhyme or reason either. I pick out a few concentrating on I know not what...might be the color, the subject, the shape...I just pluck enough of them out to cover the envelope and see what happens. I really don't start with a set end image in mind. Whatever lands is what happens. IF I'm going by a guideline, it's usually color related.

Sometimes I will add embellishments to the images with oil pastels, sharpie and / or white paint pen. 

Altered Envie 

Bluebird

oil pastels

3.5x8.5 inches

Altered Envelope

I love my mama

white paint pen 

4x8 inches

Altered Envie
Pink Keep Calm

4.5x10 inches

Altered Envie

Maple Leaf

oil pastels and white paint pen

3.75 x 7.5 inches

altered envie

Three Monkeys

oil pastels and white paint pen

3.75x8 inches

altered envie

mustache men

9.5x4 inches

oil pastels, sharpie and white paint pen

altered envie

pink with flowers 

white paint pen

4.5x10 inches

altered envie

rainbow canvas

the envie is made of duck cloth, painted with watercolors and splattered with gesso

5x7.25 inches

altered envie

the red car

white paint pen

4.25x9.5 inches

altered envie

green leaves silver

watercolor and glitter glue on plain white envie

4.25x9.5 inches when closed

altered envelope

zentangle alien

black marker on security envelope

4.5x10 inches

You will see more envelopes in the next post.

I finally finished the fishes you all looked at a few posts back. I did little more to the backsides of them than put a light color of paint on them and write my info with a black sharpie. Homemade gesso is very hard on the nib of a sharpie. That one will never be the same again! The roughening up the  nib took from the gesso should not only make it write less dark, it should make it so it's a useful tool in doing zentangles. We'll see.

Tilfin Lake Trout

Lake Jefferson Blue Spot

Lake Greenfield Trout

Lake Gerseler Bass

Cross Timbers Blue Snapper

Brighton River Red Spot

All names for these fishes are from my imagination. I don't even think there really is such a thing as a lake trout, let alone one that looks like these!

Post Card

Eyes

acrylics on recycled chipboard

4x6inches

I played around with color one day.

both are done on recycled chipboard, white from a shirtbox. I painted them in watercolors. Just a bit of fun with no intentions of actually making art. Just playing.

I kind of like the alien. I can't decide if it's a he or a she and are the purple spots on it's wings?  The green guy with a blue mustache kinda creeps me out.

post card

atomic blast

acrylics on recycled chipboard

4x6 inches

I did a couple of ATCs of atomic blasts too but I'll be danged if I know what became of them. Couldn't find them on this messy desk though I did try.

I haven't quite finished the greeting card book yet but it's well on its way.

It is missing a page or two cause I found the extra one on the kitchen table the day after I tied this one together. There was really no set rule as to how many pages it should have so it didn't really matter. I've no clue though what I'm going to do with that extra page. Guess I'll have to make another one of these?

I still have to finish the inside covers and do something to the front cover in decoration of some kind. I tied it together with some crochet cotton. This is the first of this kind of book I've ever made. The next one I may do a bit different in the decorating of the pages. My colors don't exactly compliment each other. It was an interesting book to assemble. Time to pass it on to another to put their own marks on.

Sparkly Pocket Book

5x5 inches

A look inside. It has six of these pockets in three different patterns of paper. An accordian style book. Easy to make! Fast to assemble. Many possibilities. I have another one pretty much like this one that needs to have its cover adhered. You'll see it next time.

Dog wants in. I'd forgotten the dog was outside!

I introduced you all to Lucky Tigger Murray and Tippy in a previous post. I brought them home last Wednesday much to the chagrin of Lola.

Miss Lola was a pissed off kitty that I would bring two new kids home and not consult with her on the subject beforehand! As I was on the hunt for the new kids earlier this evening, I found Miss Lola in the livingroom 'hiding' under the tiny chair Annabel had left in front of the coffee table the other day when they were all here. She is on guard duty.

The guard dog, Fred, is on break.

Lola has a helper in Guard Bear taking care of her post in front of the food bowl.

Guard Bear came in a box of junk from an auction a few years back. In the top of this box was old books, papers and such. Buried at the bottom was this hand carved wooden bear and some friends of his...a couple of horses and a colt. Bear used to stand vigil on the side of a flower pot but when the house burned, bear lost his house plant. He got a bit scorched in the fire himself. He now happily watches cats eat. Lola just thinks he guards her food bowl.

The new kids had been way too quiet for way too long. I found them in the laundry room with the door half closed. The laundry door stays open all the time! I knew before I even turned on the light, the new kids were up to no good!

They'd rearranged the counter in the laundry room.

My clean pajamas, which had previously been on the counter in a neat stack, were now on the floor behind the door, and atop the mop and broom.

Lucky Tigger Murray had to look to see what I was talking about when I asked why my things were on the floor. Tippy wasn't giving up her spot. I picked the pajamas up from the floor and put them in the drawer where they belong. 

all in all the new kids are settling in nicely. Lola has ceased whooping up on either of them, they can safely go wherever they please with Lola having her say about it and they all sleep in my bed at night with no disturbances. 

Life is good.

Especially for the critters in my house!

Thanks for stopping by and seeing the new creations!

Be good to one another!

It matters!

Peace

831