Today I Spent My Time. . .

Making This. . .

That's right, it's yet another canvas - I tell ya I am hooked on these!

The quote says: "Today spend your Time doing what you Love" and that is exactly what I did.

I think at some point I might have to make a class with one so you all can share my new found joy.

Have a GREAT Friday and I  will check in again soon

Still Killing Time . . .

Well hello Blogger Friends. I thought I'd share a little bit about what's keeping me busy these days. Seems I have a new creative obsession. That's right - I am really enjoying making these mixed media type canvases. I have made 3 since Friday. Michael's had their canvas on sale this past weekend for 50% off plus they had an additional 15% off coupon so I treated myself to a few.

I made this first one on Sunday before the family came over for Mother's Day. It is an 11x14 canvas and I put an Audrey Hepburn quote on it that says"Nothing is impossible, the word it's self says I'm Possible". I love that quote! I did the background with cut up strips of Sundays newspaper and used up some old Rusty Pickle papers that I have held onto. I also used up some old rub ons that I had laying around. I can't tell you how fun doing this is for me.

This one I made today. I started on it when the girls laid down for their naps today. And surprisingly enough they didn't even try to "help" me when they got up! This one is a 9x12 canvas that simply says "Love makes our house a Home"Once again I used up some old papers that aren't even made any more and I used an old punch I haven't used in forever. I did the 4 hearts coming out of the chimney to represent the 4 of us (Gary, our 2 girls and myself) and I used the # 8 as the door to represent that there are now 8 of us (with grandkids and the girls' men).

I just love quotes and have collected so many over the years. I think these canvases are a great way to display some of my favorites!

 This next one is an 8x10 canvas board that I did on Friday night after everyone went to bed. This one is totally different but just as much fun to make! It says MartaA. This piece was inspired by my friend Ann. A few weeks ago she was talking about how appropriate it was that the center of my name was the word "art". I had never noticed that before in my whole life! I new that at some point I would have to do something with that. So this is what I did. It was very hard to photograph since the whole thing is metal and the glare was terrible! But you will have to trust me that it looks cool in real life.

 Like I said before I have more canvases in my garage and they are calling out to me! My Mom asked me what I was going to do with all of these "Are you going to decorate the whole store (the Occasional Artist) in your artwork?" Nope - I am keeping these for myself! I told her I was just going to hang them in my studio even though they didn't match. It seems pointless to try to keep it "perfect" when I can't spend any time in there.
But then I started thinking that maybe they would work in the girls' room - it is a Mary Engelbriet room. I took them in there and it was not a great match but it got me thinking. . .
Gary and I have talked about switching rooms between my studio and the girls' room as a way to get me a usable studio and so I don't have to work at the kitchen counter anymore. As I stood there in that room with my new artwork I thought this might be a great thing! We had decided that if we switched rooms that we would dispose of all of the cabinetry in my studio and that I would have to start out with little to no furnishings in the new studio. That I would look for some older, real wood pieces at thrift stores/yard sales to furnish it. It would be a warmer, more eclectic space and will be a work in progress rather than a quickly completed space.
We wont have the girls everyday as of August so it wont be as important for them to have a space and Bryanna was okay with the fact that the girls would play in a space that has made me so sick. And of course all of their Mary Engelbreit stuff will match the black walls in the old studio.

I think I am kind of excited about starting on this new studio space and I am hoping that between doing this and seeing the 3 new doctors I am seeing this week will start me on a path to being well again. So keep me in mind if you hear of any great (cheap) finds on some old wood furniture. And if any of you know anyone that is in need of some white cabinetry I will be getting rid of mine here real soon.

These last few pictures are from Mother's Day this past Sunday. My girls are so sweet, they prepared dinner and dessert and brought it over for us. They made my favorite grilled chicken and strawberry salad with lemon/poppy seed dressing, french bread with fancy olive oil and balsamic vinegars for dipping and we had strawberry shortcakes for dessert.

There was tons of laughter and loud voices - I think my Mom wished they would all be quiet. But I LOVE the noise!!!! It reminds me of when I was raising them and all of the laughing and noise at the dinner table each night.

Bryanna wants to get special group pictures each year on Mother's Day -

her with her daughters (as you can see the girls would rather be doing anything else than get their pictures taken). Me with my 2 daughters, Mom with Me and then all of us together. We managed to get them all taken but not one of them is good! But we tried for her.

 I love my big dinning room table. I love seeing everyone around it. I don't care if we have the table set with my china & crystal eating a beautiful meal or if we are using paper plates and eating PB&J. I just love having them all together! I love that I get to sit at the head of the table and can see everyone's face. I love how Lizzy & Monkey play at the table showing each other their "see-food" (they sit across from each other. I love how Gary and Bug chat and share food (her high chair is next to him). I love how Bryanna just laughs all through dinner. How Darwin always has 2 plates to keep his food separated and not touching. I love watching Richard and Lizzy interact and how easily he has become part of the family. I wont say I love it but it is kinda funny how Mom tries so hard not to watch everyone eat and tries to cover her ears because of the noise, and how she rolls her eyes at the not quite  "dinner time conversations" that are had at dinnertime around here. I guess you could say I just love my whole crazy family!

I hope you all had a great Mother's Day and have had some time to indulge in your own creative obsessions.
Till we meet again. . . .

How Do You Kill Time?

These days I kill time sitting on the couch with a drawing pad and my growing stash of markers. This past week I was having a hard week so I did A LOT of doodling! If you had told me 6 months ago that I would ever be drawing/doodling or anything similar I would have told you that you were crazy! But I must say I really enjoy it and on those days that I don't have the energy for much else, it's a life saver (for me and my family - a bored Marta is a BAD Marta!) so I thought I'd show you a couple of my doodles tonight. . . .

These are part of my "neighborhood that I drew.  These are the first houses I ever drew. Good thing my ambition was never to be an architech!!!

 They aren't perfect but they were a fun to do and better than just watching tv! And if the truth be told, they just make me happy to look at them - it looks like a fun place to live don't ya think?

 (I really like how the frame turned out on the 2nd one)

Then I decided I would work on my shading so I drew a little posie in a pot.  

 My next exciting thing was a new "swatch" book for all of my markers. I ordered some new Prisma Markers that should be here on Friday (YIPPEE) and I also bought a couple new copics at the store. I like having a color chart to work off of. I hate that the colors shown on the pen caps are never accurate. So I made my own little chart on the computer and included all of the color numbers that I have and also the new ones I still want to get. There are several pages and each type/brand of markers has it's own page. Then I colored it in - I even made pages for my watercolor pencils and all of the gel pens I have started hoardeing collecting. It fits really nicely in my new marker storage - it is a handy tool when I am coloring!

 I have a smaller version I carry in my purse to keep me from buying duplicates while I am out!

By Sunday evening I was feeling a bit more energetic - but not enough that I wanted to clean the floors etc. I had this 16x20 canvas in the garage and I decided I would try a little
mixed-media project. This is not something I typically do - but what teh heck
I started off by just throwing paints on the canvas. Then I decided to tear up and adhere old book pages to it. Then I remembered all of the fun vintage images I have collected digitally the past few years and I picked myself out some "Lady Friends" Then I decided I was not happy with teh background so I painted the book pages with white paint - still not happy with it. Now it was time to break out some pretty, floral cocktail napkins and some Prima s/b paper I got last week

This is so far out of my regular way of creating so it took some time to get it where I was happy with it. So here it is for you all to see. . .

The funny thing about this is that the whole time I was making it I was thinking to myself what am I gonna do with this when I am done!?! I was talking to Kathie on the phone today and I was telling her I might just toss it once I finished it. She of course did not like that idea! So I guess now that it is finished I will send it to her to hang in the shop. I also promised her I would post it on my blog once I was done. So here ya go Kathie - what do ya think?

Below are some detail photos for you . . .

SSo that's about all that is going on around here. Have a great week friends!!!

UPDATE: The Beast has Been Released!

That's right - my patio is wonderfully safe again. I called my dear hubby at work and he rushed home to save me.

He carefully scooped up the beast and flipped the jar over to contain him while Gary examined him.

 Once Gary was through examining the beast it became time to chase me around the patio with the open jar!!!! But then it was time for him to get back to work so he took the beast with him, for show-n-tell and then to release.

Gary will NOT kill anything. He catches and releases everything! Don't get me started on this character flaw. . . snakes. . . mice. . . bugs - oh see, I got started! Anyhoo the beast is gone - Gary is letting him loose somewhere in the desert around here - far away from my patio! And I can now return to my regular smoking activities outside!

till we meet again. . .

The Beast on My Patio

Late last night (midnight) I walked out onto my patio for a smoke and look at what I found. . . .

 At first I thought it was a bunch of hair from the girls or something. I threw stuff at it and it didn't move. So, I got closer. . . NOPE!!!!! It was defiantly NOT HAIR!

I had never seen anything like this before and I don't mind saying I was scared to death! But I could hear Ron, my Bug Man's voice in my ear. He always tells me if I see something try to catch it or cover it with a jar to show him. So I ran in the house and found a jar and carefully covered it. This action woke the stupid thing up and it started jumping around (enter a little panic here now).

 Next item on my to do list was get the camera and take pictures to send to my Bug Man so he could rescue me from the beast on my patio. As soon as the photos were taken I sent them off to Ron for identification. But it was the middle of the night, hours away from being helped and feeling a bit itchy thinking about the beast on the patio and wondering how many more were out there! So I Googled "Big Black Spiders" I saw lots of creepy spiders but none like what I had captured.

This morning when I got up I went to check on the Beast, hoping he would be dead under that jar. Nope, he was still very much alive! So I just had to call Ron to make sure he had seen what was lurking on my patio. He had not checked his email yet, but as fate would have it he had not left to go out in the field yet. He pulled up my email and told me right away that the scary beast trapped under a jar on my patio was a "Tailless Whip Scorpion". I have lived in AZ my whole life and have never heard of or seen such a thing. He assured me it was totally harmless just "gnarly to look at". He also told me to look it up online so that I could reassure myself (he knows how I am about creepy things). So, I looked it up and sure enough Ron was right about everything - it is a Tailless Whip Scorpion and it is not harmful. But that does not mean I will be letting it go anytime soon. He will stay a prisoner until my husband can get here to KILL the Beast on my patio!

I know this is a strange post but I am home alone and it is kinda freaking me out to think he is out there. I am so glad we don't have the girls today - they love playing on the patio and I would never keep London away from this thing. Monkey would run screaming but not my London.

Well, till we meet again have a great day!

PS - if you need a good exterminator you gotta call Ron (I call him my Bug Husband) at Arizona Dragon Slayer - he is the best (623) 584-0696

What's Blooming at My House. . .

Well, they aren't really blooming anymore but I just loaded my pix and I wanted to share. Those of you that have known me for awhile know that I LOVE Calla Lilies!!! They are my most favorite flower and they just conjure up all sorts of memories and emotions for me. Since moving into the new house (can you believe it has been 5 years now!) I have really missed my calla beds that I grew for over 15 years at the old house. I have planted them here but they barely grow and never bloom. This year as they started to poke their heads up out of the ground again, I prayed "please dear Lord, let them bloom this year. I really need to see the flowers this year after the year I have just had". I don't know why, but I am always surprised when God answers these simple and unimportant prayers and just gives me the desires of my heart. So this year in February I got my first blooms here and I cannot tell you the joy it brought me! I immediately got on the phone and called Gary at work . It actually brought tears to my eyes!  

Delight thyself also in the LORD:

and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

Psalm 37:4

 This spring my beloved callas produced 21 blooms of hope and joy for me! Sadly, this past week I pulled the last withered flower from the plant. There will be no more blooms this year. But I have faith that next year they will return and be even more prolific than they were this year!

So, That's what has been blooming in the garden, now let me show you what's blooming inside. . .

This year I have started collecting markers. This is a new obsession for me. I started doodling this past summer when I was too sick to do anything else. The problem with collecting something new is trying to figure out how to store your new collection. As we all know I am a little anal and need to have everything nice and tidy, organized and labeled. I try a few methods of pen storage and none of them fit the bill. I finally asked Kathie, my friend and owner of "The Occasional Artist" if she could order me in one of the display racks for the Copic markers. As luck would have it she had an extra one in the shed. That day after class I went home with a new marker rack. I could barely wait to get home and fill it all up!!! As soon as I got home that is exactly what I did. It took me a bit to get it set up just the way I wanted it and of course to get it labeled. But once it was done I was just so happy!

 I just love this thing - it is just perfect for me and I actually use all of my pens now because I can see them all. I have them set up by color so I have no trouble at all finding the perfect color of green I need to color in my leaves. Or the perfect color of pink for a flower I am coloring. This rack also has a large open section that is the perfect place to put my pastels and my water color pencils. Kathie, I know you are reading this and. . .

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!

 This is a little doodle I did for my granddaughter London today. Yesterday I was doing a little doodle and when I finished it, all I could think of was "this would be so cute in London's room. It totally matches all of the bedding I made her". So I showed it to Bryanna and she loved it. I told her I would have to draw it again so that it would fit into a standard frame. She suggested I add her name to it somewhere when I made the new one. I suck at lettering! But I am trying very hard to teach myself. So, I accepted the challenge to add her name to the new doodle. It's far from perfect, but I am pleased with how it turned out. And even nicer is that Bryanna was happy with it and willing to hang it on her wall! I really wish you could see all of the little details in this doodle. I did a lot of tone on tone texture with my new Glaze pens and some glitter with my favorite Sakura glitter pens.  Hey, while we are talking about markers, did you know Kathie is offering the new 25th Anniversary Collection of 36 Copic markers for $225 if you pre-order them? That's right, I have to get my order in, I really want those. Have you seen them? They all have black barrels for the 25th Anniversary!

Well, That's all for tonight folks - I hope you enjoyed seeing what's blooming around my house. What's blooming at your house? If the answer is "NOTHING" draw yourself some blossoms!

Til we meet again. . .

Is There Anybody Out There?????

I know, I know, I did another disappearing act but honestly I have some good excuses! That's right I have more than one excuse, are you ready for them all? Well, here we go. . .

It has been another trying month around hear - I hate sounding like I am complaining but really I am just explaining what's been going on. As luck would have it I am still not feeling well, some days better than others. I have seen a new Dr and now have some new referals to 3 more Drs and some more tests. If all of the regular health problems aren't enough in the past 2 weeks I have had the stomach flu - if you know me, there isn't anything I hate worse than throwing up!!!! I have also had a UTI, ear infection, sinus infection and some issues with my teeth. These last few afflictions are still with me - gotta love life!!!

Oh and I didn't mention that my desktop crashed!!! I finally got a laptop so I didn't have to be in the studio and I had it linked to my desktop. One night I was getting ready to back up some files (something I have not done in months because I just can't be in my studio too long) when I realized that my linkeddrives gone! I went to the desk top and sure enough the drives were totally gone!!!! I called my son in law and he took the drive home and couldn't retrieve anything. I was just so sad, it had only been 18 months since my last computer crashed and lost everything! But frankly I just have too much other stuff going on to really spend too much energy on it. I would just have to figure out how to recreate as much as I could. I got my drive back and had EZ AZ Techz come pick it up and give it a try. This guy is my hero! He salvaged EVERYTHING!!!!! I was so happy! He even found out that my drive was still under warrenty and contacted the company and sent it back for me and a new, FREE, replacement drive is on it's way! Once it gets here he will install this drive as a back-up drive for me.

But I have taken some time to create some new class project samples. I will share them with you below. Just click on the photo to see more detailed photos of the project.

Art Quotes Wall Hanging

This will be taught at The Occasional Artist on Sat, May 26th

This is using the new G-45 Kraft Collection. I love it - even though I didn't think I would like it when they 1st previewed it. The wall hanging is an impressive 14x14 and hastons of pearls on it, a couple fun, handmade flowers and of course several fun quotes about art and creativity. and it all hangs from a pretty silver chain.

 Sew Many Memories Book in a Box

This will be taught at The Occasional Artist on Sat, April 21st

 You know I love these book boxes! I have done them before but this time I altered it in a new and improved way. I love how it turned out! I used a line of paper by Fabscraps for this project. Lots of lace and buttons, as well as a couple of tiny spools of thread and a tiny pair of scissors all snuggled inside a cool resin frame.

 This is the book that goes inside the box . It has a simple stitched binding.

Olde Curiosity Shoppe Curio Box Album

This will be taught at The Occasional Artist on Sat, June 9th

This is a SUPER FUN project and I hope you will take a look at the detailed images on this one! I just finished it yesterday morning. I have been wanting to make another one with another paper collection all day today but I still haven't totally cleaned up my mess from this one yet.

So that's what I have been up to lately - I hope all is well with you and that you have been busy creating art of your own!

Till we meet again. . .