A Simple Project to Share...

I made these Prayer Tile Trivets 6 or 7 years ago, as you can tell from the wear & tear on them! They are looking pretty awful, not sure why I didn't just throw them out last year,*pack rat*, so I thought I would make some new ones before Thanksgiving. My back is better but not 100%, so my hubby took me to the pharmacy for more back creme & Thanksgiving paper napkins to make some new trivets. I was really disappointed that the only Thanksgiving napkins they had were of extremely ugly turkeys. Hopefully I can find something better before Thanksgiving. If not, I may try printing a picture onto some tissue paper that may work just as well. I'm sure you could use a magazine picture or other paper, however, it just would be as flat. I am thinking I am going to use a piece of recycled wood instead of a tile. I am going to paint & distress the wood before applying the picture. They come in so handy with all the hot plates & dishes at dinner. To make one you simply pull the napkin layers apart leaving just the printed image that you want to adhere on your tile or piece of wood. Glue image to tile & let completely dry. Then you can antique, paint or whatever you'd like. Then over the top of it all write the prayer with permanent marker or paint pen, then spray with acrylic or coat over with Mod Podge. This would be a great project to do with kids as well. I didn't write the prayer that is on my tiles. I'm sorry I don't know who wrote it but I can bet whomever wrote it wouldn't mind me or you using it. It reads:
Our Heavenly Father,
Please bless the bounty that has been prepared before us. Bless those who are with us today and those who are not. Thank you Lord for all the many blessings that you have so graciously bestowed upon us. Thank you for giving your life so that we may have life. Father bless those who are less fortunate. Bless our children for they are our future, and bless our elders for they are our history. For all these things we ask in your holy name.
Amen

I Hope To Be Dancing...

...in the next day or so. I'll be getting down like this lady when I do! My back is out and I have been hobbling around like I'm 90 for the last few days. It's awful. I hope this is the last of the bad luck me & my family have been stricken with lately. I miss painting, blogging, dropping on blogs, reading my favorite blogs & twittering! I have a gallery show next month & have no idea what I am painting for it yet and being out of commission is stressing me out more. However, (always a bright side)while immobile I did have some fun when I watched Ghost Town. I thought it was so funny! I even belly laughed a couple of times! The actors did a great job & it was worth the rental fee.

Hanging On To My Hat!

A big shout out to Sarah at Perebags for including my Cotton Field print in her wonderful Treasury. You can check her shop out here & the Treasury here!

Results Are In...

...the flu that took us down one by one was the H1N1 virus. It left each of us detached from life & dwarfed of ambition for over a week now. I appreciate all of your sweet comments. My hubby is last man standing and I really hope he doesn't get it. Yesterday it seemed that all were well and we had a big family birthday dinner party. It was a collaborative effort & everything was so delicious. My oldest son, whom by the way is missing his calling by not pursuing a culinary career, made huge meatballs just like his Gramma Joan used to make. So good. His cooking abilities make me proud. The party full of laughter which is just a good for you as chicken soup.

I finished the paper bag scrapbook of my grandson which I started in August for his Mommie's birthday. From ultrasound to his 1st birthday. I was relieved when she liked it. Scrapbooking is a messy undertaking for me & drives my neat freak hubby nuts. I know he will be glad that project is over & we have our coffee table back. I'm so visual that I have to spread everything all out so that I can see it all. If I had worked on it in my studio instead of the living room I would have been just a ghost around here. Luckily we didn't have any unexpected guests because I would not have been able to get all the mess under the couch cushion fast enough! hahhaha JUST KIDDING!!! hahaha

For the party one of the things I made was Tomato Jam. You may be thinking "Gross!" but no no my friend, it's so good & simple too! If you love tomatoes, salsas & sauces like I do this is a must try. On cornbread it's eye-rolling! I could put it on anything & like it. I made several batches playing with the recipe, so I'm going to share my favorite with you so you can run to your kitchen & make it. It would make a great gift too.

Campbell Jane's Tomato Jam

1 large can of Diced Tomatoes - do not drain

3/4 C onion chopped

4 cloves garlic chopped

1 C sugar

3/4 C cider vinegar

1 Tbsp finely minced ginger 1 pinch of salt, nutmeg, red pepper flakes & cinnamon

1 tsp dry mustard

1 bay leaf

Put all ingredients in medium size sauce pot, stir thoroughly. Bring to boil then reduce heat to medium low heat, slow bubbles, stirring occasionally until it is reduced to a jam consistency & tomatoes are ruby in color. Approx 2 hours. Put in clean jars. It will thicken further when refrigerated. (I buy ginger fresh, cut it into walnut size chunks then put in freezer to use when I need it. A walnut size piece minces down to 1 tbsp)

Enjoy!

Pardon The Interuption

My family has been sick with the flu. One by one we have been getting it. This weekend was my turn. I'll get back to blogging as soon as I can.

What Day Is It?!

Wow! I'm sorry it's been a week since I blogged. My computer is still acting up which makes it difficult to be on the computer for any length of time. We are now at our last option, wiping out the hard drive & if that doesn't work, new computer. I miss dropping on blogs & feel out of the loop with my favorites & Entrecard buddies.
I have been watching my little JJ for the kids while they move, so I haven't finished the Drama Queen painting or anything else on canvas. I promise I will post a pic as soon as I have it finished. Thank you all for your sweet comments. I painted over the creepy crown I had painted & I'm liking it much better. I know my paintings look easy but honestly some take days or weeks, but in this case it's just because I haven't been working on it very hard. I'm watching JJ tomorrow too. I will get to paint on Saturday while Hubby is at a Sharks game in San Jose. Go Sharks! JJ is getting quite the personality and keeps me laughing & running. I'm proud that he has such a sweet little heart. He loves to share everything. Everything is a "dog" or a "duck" too. When he was here the other day he was talking like crazy, all baby talk but truly carrying on a conversation. It was so cute & excruciating trying to hold in a belly laugh.
Saturday my son was in a Battle of the Bands at Club Retro and his band is moving up to the next battle! Hurray Even The Atlantic!
Big Thank You Shout out goes to Abbasgirl for including my Christ painting in her wonderful Etsy Treasury!

On A Mission

It's a beautiful day by my standards. I even have a sweatshirt on! It's chilly & gray. I hope it rains. I've been working in the backyard every morning & getting a lot done. No plantings just clean up. I started a small rock retaining wall around the patio in the circle of trees. It's almost finished. Really it's not a big wall, more like a big rock edging. I've been doing a little bit at a time so that I don't throw my back out. It was a nice weekend. Hope yours was too.

Last night I had the house to myself. Hubby was working. Son had band practice. I curled up in my Hubby's chair & sketched on a new freshly prepared canvas while a previously recorded "Pawn Stars" show played. I am hooked on that show. After I had it sketched out, which is something I don't do when I paint my Angels, I headed up to my tiny studio. Forgetting to turn some lights on. As I finished putting the 1st coat of paint on my new piece "Drama Queen" the phone rang. I scrambled around in the dark to find the phone, my son tells me he is spending the night out, then I make my way back to the studio. When I walked in room, the "Drama Queen" was waiting for me. I'm not kidding. Working up close to the piece I thought it was fun, from afar it was scary. I actually got the heebie geebies. So I went back downstairs, flipping on lights & kind of looking over my shoulder all the way. I haven't gone in there again yet & it's already noon. haha So my mission for today is to sweet'n this "Drama Queen" up a bit without losing it's personality.

Finally Finished!

"Concessions"

I love this one. I wish I could get a better picture but it's too big for me to scan at home. This sweet one has sort of a double meaning for me. Concessions, as in Concession Stand, and concessions as in putting on a happy face when making concessions in our life that we don't always want to make. Hope you like it too!
Be happy!

I'm So Tempted...

...bury myself into this chair in front of the computer & feast my eyes on art, and some clown art, but I won't do it. I don't want to see anything that may influence the pieces that I have swirling around in my head. Do not fear, I will get back to painting angels but I am having so much fun right now. I'm loving what I'm doing. After many oil pastel pieces, I finally picked up my brushes to put some clowns on canvas. Funny, I don't feel like these are "clowns". To me they seem to be just odd whimsical colorful characters whose sole job is to make people happy & to delight. This piece took me 3 days to complete. It's on 12"x12"x1.5" gallery wrapped canvas. I started on another late last night which I am calling "Concessions". It may take 3 days as well. Do you ever start a piece then think to yourself; "is this going to be worth the time?" "should I quit now or keep going?" I do, however, this is not the case for these pieces. I love these characters & enjoyed every moment spent creating them.

"North Wind"
Following the wind without any plans... that's me & I have a wonderful time wherever I end up. There is a little sadness on one side of the face & happiness on the other, depicting the emotions you often feel when it's time to move on.

Still Clowning Around...

I know that "clown art" is not the most marketable thing to do. Red Skelton didn't do too bad but he was a clown. I also know the goal of a full-time artist is to make a comfortable living. I'm trying to reach that goal. And I know that these take considerable time to create, perhaps I should spend that time more wisely. However, lack of marketability & time isn't stopping me. Just painting & creating things that may be profitable would crush my creative spirit. I can't do it. I bore too easily. I paint & create things I like. If you like it too that makes it even more awesome & rewarding. I can make a chicken last for at least 3 dinners! LOL

These little clown people are a little freedom for me to do something silly, get some" lowbrow" juices flowing, make something crazy, something out of the ordinary, unexpected and at the same time I am getting comfortable with a new medium, oil pastels. I think I'm getting better at using them. Learning to work color from light to dark. These little clowns are beginning not to scare me but make me happy. Life is a Circus enough, channel your inner clown!

On My Easel

Cirques Acts are now listed on Ebay. Click here to bid!

Little Swimmer's are now listed on Etsy. Click here to purchase!


Dreamy Angels are now listed on Ebay. Click here to bid!

I can't put the oil pastels down! I'm having so much fun with them. Here's a few ACEOs I've been working on. The "Little Swimmers" are currently listed in my Etsy Shop. I've had the circus in my head this summer & going to the Cirques du Soleil show only made it worse. I guess I am facing my fears of Clowns in my Cirques collection which is fun and a little creepy! Clowns scare me. I'm scaring myself! LOL

I've Got A...Pencil Full of Lead

And nothin's gonna bring me down!





Have a great weekend!

Haiku Hello

Waiting for your call
Minutes pass by like raindrops
I am immobilephoto by radiofreesealab's

Back To Business!

Back from Las Vegas & So Cal. We got in late Tuesday night and I did absolutely nothing yesterday! We got on the road about 4am (not 3am) on Friday & pulled into Henderson about 2:45pm. We had a slow down because of heavy rain. Oh yeah! You know me and rain. It was great. I didn't mind a bit. Apparently in Nevada around Las Vegas they take planes up to salt the clouds to make the rain to cool it down some. California should do the same thing especially over big fire areas & on top of my house :) We got into our room, freshened up then met up with our friends. We drove downtown to meet with our friend's sister & brother-in-law & went then to Margaritaville. We had to wait to get in and people watching was as much fun as the dinner & volcano show! We met some usual characters that were walking by on the boulevard. I was so tired after dinner that when I got into the room & hit the bed I was out like a light in seconds.

The next morning we went to the Joker's Wild, a small casino down the street, for a bite to eat. We split a club sandwich & my hubby played a couple of Keno tickets while we ate & won $3. Like I said we aren't big gamblers and we kept so busy there was no time to gamble. Afterwards we of met up with our friends & went out to Lake Las Vegas. We hung around there for several hours visiting & window shopping. It was so hot. We spent longer than we thought there & had to rush back to the hotel to get ready for the big show.

In a couple of hours we all met at the Mirage. Let me just say that no matter where you live the travel & tickets would be worth it to go to the Cirque Du Soleil LoVe show! It was the most fantastic show I have ever seen. Even if you are not a Beatles fan you would enjoy this show. The first thing I said when it was over was "I want to see it again!" There are speakers in the head rest of your seat & on the seat in front of you, that combined with the acts on stage was amazing. Total sensory overload! At some points in the show it is impossible to see everything that is going on, which is why I would love to see it again and I wish all my friends & family could see it. It's truly an unforgettable experience!

The next day we took off for Murietta. We stayed there that night & the next day. I did all the cooking which was fun for me, hopefully fun for them & on Monday saw Julie & Julia the movie. We were escaping the heat. I read this book several years ago & I think they did a great job on the movie. I think Meryl Streep did Julia Child justice and the movie is worth a ticket to see in the theater. I hate going to the movie only to leave thinking I should have waited for it to be $1 in the video store. The guys liked it even though it could be labeled as a "chick flick".
I said back to business but I'm not exactly back to business, but I am back. I am working on a collage with our Cirques Soliel tickets and the different confetti that fell during the show, yep I put that right in my purse. Tomorrow I am watching my little JJ. He's spending the night. Then Saturday we are going to a jazz concert featuring Mindy Aber & Peter White. Busy busy lately. So come Monday I will really be back in business. I can't wait to paint!

What?! Wow!

Yes Wow! A blog award created to recognize me!! Can you think of anything sweeter than that? I can't right now!!! Please go to TJ's blog to read all about it and what she wrote. It's so beautiful. You will love TJ & her art too. She loves color as much as I do. Her pieces are whimsical eye candy. I will definitely be passing this along as soon as I get back next week.
We leave for Vegas at 3am in the morning. I very excited to spend time with friends that I dearly love. We don't really gamble but it's gonna be awfully tempting now after spending $600 at the Toyota dealership yesterday, just to see if we could re-coop that money. haha But ya know that saying What Happens in Vegas Stays in Vegas? Well I think what really happens is your money stays there & is the price you pay for your secrets to stay there too! LOL We took my car in for it's regular checkup (had a $100 off coupon for it too) & hubby wanted to get it checked out after my recent cross country trip. They said they found other things that needed fixing. Don't they always? I love my little Matrix though and will keep it until it is completely unfixable. Even though it's small, it's roomy, my 6 ft+ guys can sit in the back w/o their knees touching the back of the front seats, an entire drum kit fits in the back & it's fun to drive.

I've been working on this large painting all week. I still have lots of work to do on it. So far she's not an Angel. Maybe if I turn her into an Angel she'll come together? haha She started off like a Japanese Geisha, then morphed into a Spanish Senorita. A Bullfighter's bride? Her face has changed at least 5 times and I am in the process of changing it again. The shape, the eyes... Painting large canvases is a real challenge for me unless they are super large, those are fun. I prefer painting smaller pieces but I had the canvas so I thought I'd use it. I keep plugging along but really I'm getting to the point of giving up and starting something new instead of spending anymore time & paint on her.

Have a great holiday weekend! Peace & Love ;)