Monday, November 11, 2013

What a GREAT Weekend!!!!

My weekend started off on Thursday this past week with a slumber party with my friend Deborah. She took me out for a BEAUTIFUL dinner at the Capitol Grille in the Biltmore, complete with a decadent dessert! We were the last ones out then back to her house for more gabbing and fellowship. he plan was to leave earlier in the day but we ended up having fun until around 5pm. Thanks Deborah for 24 hours of girl fun!




Saturday was a busy day starting at 4:30am!!!! Bryanna and I had a garage sale at her house. We each made a little money, had a little excitement and just enjoyed hanging out. Lizzy even brought some stuff over and hung out for the day. That evening we had a memorial celebration for a friend of the family's that lost her mother this past week. It was such a nice evening - not morbid or sad just a good celebration of life!


And this is what I did on Sunday. . . 
 There is no real significance to this piece - just the joy of creating something. I am calling it my Vintage Dental Curio Assemblage (not a super clever name but oh well). 
 I got the box from Bryanna for my birthday last week - one of my Goodwill treasures. I took the front doors off and took the glass out of the side doors and replaced them with rusty metal screens. I off course gutted out all of the jewelry box elements and painted and distressed it. I love how the finish turned out!
 Then I started filling it up with all kinds of dental goodies that my bug man Ron got for me a couple of months ago. So all of the pieces here are authentic except for the medicine bottles. I even made some toothpaste that will never smoosh - gotta love moulding paste!

 That funny tool on the right is what they measure your teeth with for false teeth - and then of course there are various dreaded drill bits there at the bottom. 
 More drill bits and a tooth shade guide on this side. And can you read the vintage label at the top? "Cocaine Toothache Drops" - can you imagine?
 Just some detail pix for you so you can see all the interesting items packed into this one. 

When you open the drawers you get to see more teeth molds, some temporary caps and copies of vintage dental catalog pages. 


 There's a close-up of my toothpaste. It's one of my favorite parts!

This is what the box looked like when I got it - quite a transformation!

Well I better get moving - I hope you all had a FANTASTIC weekend also and are enjoying Veterans Day!

till we meet again. . . 

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Rusty Gold Celebration

I will officially be a piece of "rusty gold" this Tuesday! What does that mean you ask? I am turning 50 years old! But since everyone has school or work to deal with during the week my family made today the day to celebrate. For the past few months they all asked what I wanted to do to celebrate my "big b-day" and all I could come up was to spend time with them and maybe play some board games. And that is what we did. 

My Bug and my Liz

We had Chick-fil-A (a family fav) for dinner

And then during dinner the Brass Armadillo (an antique mall) came up and next thing I knew all of us but Monkey, Bug and my Mom were loaded up in Bryanna's car and on our way for a treasure hunt!
 Gary & Richard
 Darwin, Bryanna & Liz

After we paid for our treasures I had the clerk take a quick picture of us all. 
 Once back at the house it was game time - Monkey got to pick the game. So we all plaid Disney headbands. Have you played it? It is fun but a little hard if you are not up on your Disney movies!
 Doesn't everyone look adorable with their Mickey Ear Headbands on?

 Even my Mom plaid - although she didn't follow the rules!
 Next was homemade cherry pie - YUM! This is my favorite so I made my own birthday dessert this year. But Bryanna was sure to pick up the big number candles to put on top. 
 I enlisted the help of my granddaughters when it was time to blow out the candles. 

 Here are my treasures I got while we were at the Brass Armadillo - a couple rusty old locks, some rusty pulleys, a set of S&P shakers, mini pie tins and a great selection of clock numerals. 

This was an unusual find - I found this Hebrew alphabet in with the clock numerals and I just had to have them!
 Back at home Gary had a dozen red roses waiting for me
 And Liz & Richard got me these way cool Steampunk Mickey Mouse ear ornaments while they were in Disneyland last week. They are just so fun!
 So that was my evening - a wonderful time spent with my family! 

But my day started off with another treasure hunt! My Mom and Bryanna & Darwin had given me spending money to use gathering treasures at the Goodwill 50% off sale today. And here are my prized finds. . . 
Several wooden picture frames, a couple wooden clock cases and jewelry boxes. Some vintage roller skates, several wooden shoe stretchers, some metal and silver trays. Several brass and wooden numbers and three china dolls (that I will be "parting out" and using in some art). Six candle sticks, a bag of nuts and bolts, an old alarm clock and so much more!

Here are my favorite treasures from the day - 2 bronze hands (they are so heavy)! I just can't wait to get in my studio to play!!! So be on the look out for some or all of these things to show up in my creations. 

So that was my day - it was wonderful and I felt so loved by all of them - that was truly the best gift of all!
I hope your weekend was as grand!
till we meet again. . . 

Monday, October 28, 2013

Pumpkins and Psalms


I have been busy in my studio this weekend! 
Saturday I started cleaning up the house. I had the stomach flu this past week and had not accomplished anything! I still didn't feel great but figured since no one was home I could go at my own pace and get a few things accomplished. One of the things I wanted to get done was clean up my studio. It was a MESS! I had been trying to work on a class sample (that flopped) and had also brought some things in from the garage to take care of (and never did). You could barely walk in there! One of the things I wanted to do was take apart my first canvas I ever made.

 Do you remember this one?
I really didn't like it and decided I would salvage some of the embellishments I had put on it. As I started removing my treasures I ripped the actual canvas, which was no big deal. But as I finished my salvage efforts I started just tearing off the canvas and I fell in love with the wooden framework underneath. I decided to save it too and put it in the garage. A few minutes later it was back out of the garage and I was on the phone with Gary. He had to work this Saturday and that was perfect for me.
Me:  "Hey Babe, do you have any scraps of chicken wire on the job site?"
Gary "Sure do how big a piece do you want?"
I was so excited! When he got home that afternoon I was already in full swing on my project! I had this fake pumpkin Mom had bought along with flowers, leaves and burlap ribbon left over from the Girls' pumpkins. Now I had a frame and some chicken wire and I was thrilled! No running to the store, no spending money, just the bliss of creating something! 

This is what I came up with
The fake pumpkin is mounted on a 9x12 canvas board and then tied to the chicken wire. The chicken wire was of course silver and I wanted it to look older and warmer so I grabbed a small paintbrush and painted each wire with a mix of alcohol ink and patina to give it a more rusty look. The wooden frame is painted with several colors and I used my Ivory soap distress technique to make it look like barn wood. And of course the frame was not in perfect condition anyway since it was just the framework for a canvas. I also distressed my fake pumpkin so the whole piece has a very rustic and natural look to it. 
I made it just for something to do and figured it would be a good addition to my Fall decor, but I might keep it hanging in my kitchen all year long - who knows?

When I finished with the pumpkin I cleaned everything up - the studio looked so nice! Then I got to thinking about another project I had started a few weeks ago and never finished. I knew what I wanted but I just was stuck on the finish for the box so I just put it away. Saturday evening I KNEW what I wanted to do and at 10:30 pm I got it all out and went to town. I was having so much fun with it that when I looked at the clock it was 5:00 am!!! I crawled into bed and of course over slept for church. But at noon when I got up I got going on it again.  And I finished it all up Sunday night.  I am so glad I put it away for those few weeks because it turned out better than I originally envisioned. 

So here it is - my Psalms 119:105 assemblage box
This Psalm was one of my very first memory verses when I was a little girl in Sunday school. I used the KJV of the verse since that is how I memorized it all those years ago even though I never read the KJV of the Bible anymore. 

The box is one of those floating shelves. Bryanna gave it to me a while back and I just added a back to it. The inside of the box is lined with actual Bible pages from the Book of Psalms that have been crackled. The outside of the box is very simple. I wanted it plain since there is so much inside the box. One side of the box has 119 painted on for the chapter. The other side has 105 painted on it for the verse. The light bulb is a reproduction of an antique light bulb that was a "gift" from a friend one night while we were out to dinner.  The old pocket Bible I got while we were on vacation this year along with most of the metal pieces. The crosses, the keys and handle all came from my dear friend Deborah. And the cross necklace came from my daughter Bryanna's friend Chris who gave me a bag of old jewelry. The rest of the stuff was just in my stash. I put the actual verse inside a locket and used some JudiKins Fluxe to seal it in there. I bought that fluxe about 2 years ago and have never used it until now. It worked great and I just used a hot plate to heat it up. No fumes or smells or anything  - I would recommend this product. Again - no running to the store or spending money - LOVE THAT!

So that is pretty much what I have been up to - having the flu and creating! Now I have GOT to get my house cleaned up and get my class sample done!

Till we meet again. . . 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

God's Not Dead. . .

There is a new movie coming out this Spring that I can't wait to see! 


I added the trailer for you all to watch 


It is about time we have some quality and intelligent faith base films released in the commercial market! I am sure if you are a Christian, at some point you have been put to the test to defend your beliefs and the existence of God. I bet this movie will give us all more evidence to share when we are once again expected to tell why believe that GOD IS NOT DEAD!!!

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect
1Peter 3:15

Till we meet again

Thursday, October 17, 2013

What Does Love Require of ME?

In today's post I want to share some stuff with you - stuff that has nothing to do with art, although it's message will most likely end up on a canvas or in a journal at some point. This "stuff" really touched me where I live and has made me question How I live. I hope you will stick around and read this and that it will make you also think a little bit. If not, trust me we will return to our regular format full of art and pictures soon and I hope you will come back.

A couple of months ago I started watching Andy Stanley on Sunday mornings while I got ready for church. Andy is the son of Charles Stanley, a preacher I remembered from when I was young. I had no idea that the elder Stanley had a son, let alone that he was a preacher like his father. I have grown quite fond of his teachings and find them so applicable to everyday life. He has an easy going, somewhat humorous, yet intelligent delivery. Andy typically teaches in series, building each week on the theme from the week before. About 2 weeks ago I missed a message but I found that you can watch his series online on his website. I was thrilled to be able to catch up. Then I started to poke around his website and found that he has a whole bunch of his messages available to watch and learn from.

I started watching an 8 part message that was simply called "Christian" with the subtitle "It's not what you think". I was surprised at one of his first statements about being a Christian, it was both controversial and true. Here is what he said "Christians are judgmental, homophobic, moralists that think they are the only ones going to heaven and secretly relish the fact that that everyone else is going to hell.' WOW!!!! that is a tough statement to swallow as a Christian. But then, after I caught my breath, I realized that is how lots of us Christians are viewed (and sadly how some act). In fact I personally have been called "ignorant, uneducated and weak" because of my faith and I have lost friends because of my relationship with God.

So, how do we change this perception? How do we as Christians clean up our reputation of being judgmental, ignorant and weak? We do it with LOVE! Jesus Christ Himself told us this in John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.” 

This begs another question - What Does Love Require of ME?
1. Don't do anything that will hurt you - Why? Because when you hurt yourself you hurt your Father in heaven who loves you!
2. Don't do anything that will hurt someone else - Why? Because when you hurt others you hurt your Father in heaven who loves everyone as much as He loves you!
3. Don't be mastered by anything - Why? Because when you are mastered by something it keeps you from loving someone!
In short, it is way more important that people see how we Behave (do what Jesus did) than to hear what we Believe!

So why am I telling you all of this? I guess mostly because it has changed the way I view my role as a "Christian". My job is not to make you Believe like I do - my job is to Love you like HE does! So to all of my non-Christian friends, I apologize if I share more of my beliefs and less of my love with you. And to my Christian friends I beg you to think, as I have about what people believe we as Christians are. Let's change our reputation!

till we meet again. . . 

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Still Doodle'in. . .

Is that even a word??????
Anyhoo - hubby is off fishing this weekend and I am just starting to move again so I have been a lazy bum. Just been laying around watching movies and doodling. 



I added the B&W ones to the "My Doodles" tab if you want to download them to color. 
Have a colorful weekend

till we meet again. . . 

Monday, October 7, 2013

It's FALL Ya'll

Well it is a week later than I planned but I finally got my Fall decorations out. Fall is my most favorite season of them all. I just adore all of the rich colors of the season and the refreshing weather after such an intensely HOT summer season. I could actually live in a home that was decorated for Fall all year long!
I certainly don't "over-do" the Fall decorations and they are all Fall - no Halloween decorations, but I sure do love them. I just figured I'd give you a peek at what is looks like around here now.
 This is when you first walk in the door. The containers are there on the pony wall all year long, they just get filled up at this time of year. It's hard to see them, but I have my china pumpkins out on the dining room table and the big cornucopia and other nick nacks in the pass-through. 
 This is between the dining room and the living room. I usually put my scarecrow by the window at the front door, but this year I decided this little nook between the piano and the china cabinets would be the perfect place for a little Fall vignette. The pumpkins are all fake and purchased last year after the holidays for 80% off! The rake head is old an rusty - a gift from my Doodle when we bought our first house 26 years ago! I just popped a little sunflower on it today and added some burlap ribbon. 

 These two pumpkins were made for my girls to hang on their front doors this year. The top one is Bryanna's - she likes the more "whimsy" colors, and the bottom one is for Lizzy who likes a more warm and primitive feel. I think it is funny that my Bug calls their pumpkin the LaLa Loopsey pumpkin. Once she said it I realized she was absolutely right - it does look like a  LaLa Loopsey pumpkin!


Lizzy's pumpkin has been hanging in my living room by the piano waiting for her to pick it up. When my Mom came home today and saw I had decorated she said "you can't give Liz her pumpkin now - it looks perfect there". So I guess I will be cutting up another pumpkin tomorrow so that we will have one too. 

This is the living room - not much in here 'cept a couple little rag scarecrows and some of my pumpkins I made last year. I will be adding my candy corn banner to this wall but I need to go pick it up from the store first. 

So, tell me, what do you do for decorations around your house this time of year????
Till we meet again. . .