I Folded...

...and folded and folded. Who knew I could have one day made a living at folding paper like Sipho Mabona !??  When I moved to Japan I fell in love & couldn't have enough origami paper.  If my parents gave me money I would spend it on origami paper.  There was always a silver page or gold page, or both at the bottom of the stack and I always had a hard time folding those. I would save them for last because they were pretty. I would get so upset if I messed up on those pieces. haha Looking back it was sort of a comfort having that paper to play with being in such a new environment & culture. I love the Japanese people, Japanese art, food.  My mom jokes (but it's true)  that she was still finding paper of mine long after I moved out. (I won't say how long. haha)

A nice package of origami paper can still stop me in my tracks. 

After all these years I can still make these in my sleep! I also make one upside down with a little flare...

My son's wedding is July 3rd.  The rehearsal party is at my house. Maybe I should start now and cover the backyard in white cranes!  hum.... I think I'd need some volunteer paper folders my yard is pretty big!  Did you know according to Japanese legend that 1000 folded cranes makes a wish come true? Who's in? Who's folding with me?

 

Today I plan to work listing some new art & paint some more.

So folding my hands in prayer is the only folding I'm going to get done today!

Create a great day!

Blessings!

 

 

Happy St. Patrick's Day...

Feel free to use the above picture as you'd like.   Right click on the picture and save to your desktop.

 

My morning doodle. 

A doodle a day!
 

Have Fun! Be green!

Create a great day!

Blessings

Pinned and Nailed...

... I will try to start posting more of the Pins I try.  I hate that I love Pinterest so much. haha  I don't dare get on there sometimes, time will vanish.  This jean skirt haunted me until I tried it.  (just like the hot glue gun molds on a previous post.) I've had some pin fails for sure and today I'm using the word "nailed" loosely.  The next one, however, is nailed for sure.  I have had a big bag of jeans/pants ready to donate but I was at the thrift with the kids a few weeks ago and these jeans were only $2.  I liked the flat pockets so I thought I would use them to practice on this skirt I had Pinned .  When you click on the picture for the Pin there are no instructions just a picture to go by.  The blog is Moda e Dicas de Costura, Fatima has lots of super cute refashion/upcycled clothes ideas, which I love. 

But I'm all in. Chalk, Scissors, Machines at ready. Thinking how hard could it be?, usually with me end in a mess.  Surprisingly not that hard! It goes together pretty well.  I used white chalk to draw my lines on and I actually folded the pants in half & cut all layers at once. 

(Be careful if you have different pockets & pocket placement on the back)

Next time I will round out the point on the outside of the leg more. It's a little tricky navigating around that point & easing in  the ruffle.  I will do a little better sewing the back together with the weird inseam leftover too. That took a little time to figure that out. The picture above is before I completely serged it - the seams are nicely serged now.  On this one I didn't bother sewing a flat felled seam (jean seam) to attach the ruffles. I thought it might be too thick, but now I don't think so & I may try it.   The front is short, but wearable if you like short skirts. It's falls mid-thigh. Below it is modeled with a purple gypsy-ish slip skirt underneath. Some additional layers in the front would make it more modest.  I didn't take a picture of the back.  boo. The back is just as cute.  I just left all the edges serged but they could be hemmed. As it turns out,  I don't like the pockets that much but it was $2 of fun!  How cute this would be to do to little girls jeans.

After that skirt turning out better than expected,  I decided to use a pair out of the donate bag to make this one...

... but 2 of us couldn't figure it out! and it looks easier than the 1st one.  If you do, let me know! That pair of pants is still in pieces.  I want to try this one next. I may even wear this design...a little embroidery on the longer side...we'll see...

... that bag full of pants to donate may be skirts instead!

Create a great day!

Blessings

Egg-cellent Idea...

... Why haven't I thought of this before?  We like egg salad on toast for breakfast sometimes.  I switch it up.  Plain, with pickles, with curry,  with turmeric, sometimes olives, horseradish, (gee I guess I have a large egg salad repertoire)... The other day I made some with green olives & fresh rosemary, mayo, salt & pepper.  Hubby wanted more but I only made a little. Boo. Next time I'll make more. The bread made it more delicious.  When I was just picking up a few things at the store,  passing by the bakery, I spy French bread straight out of the oven. Driven that direction by my nose probably. The bag was steaming,  I paused to look at that bag for a second. When I realize I am looking at a bag of bread, contemplating on whether to buy it or not, I snap out of it, hoping no one saw me because I'm sure I had a big thought bubble above my head.  So I pass it by. I looked around like I didn't care, then circled back around. I took it to the bakery lady and had her slice it for me.  Far to dangerous to bring home in a loaf & slice myself. *chunk butter guilt *repeat. :P nom nom nom  We normally don't eat white bread so it's a real treat. I'm not a candy, cake & cookie person, I'm a bread, pasta & chip person. Sugar is sugar. Anyway, I hate chunky egg salad so I usually meticulously chop the eggs one at a time into itty bitty pieces with a fork.  Out of the blue, like a blue light special, the bulb went off! Pastry Cutters! Pow! That worked so great & such a time saver I thought I would post it for you.

Such a long post for a simple tip, but if you like egg salad, you might appreciate this tip just in time for Easter!

 

Did I make the price of eggs go up? hahaha Since I have been eating sorta kinda vegetarian, we have been lots of eggs.  In the past year they have gradually become more & more expensive, almost doubling in price.  My hubby ordered a cobb salad the other day and there was no egg on it, he said he didn't complain & joked it was probably too expensive.  I say sort of vegetarian, because I love McD's Jalapeno Burger - what a surprise right? (pepperfool)  I normally would not pick McD's as my go to place for a great burger and I don't even like cheeseburgers! I never order a cheeseburger coz the cheese is all slimy & makes the meat taste slimy & taste less meaty to me, but I like the Jalapeno Burger. It's all about the peppers. I do get one now & then or have a little tuna, or chicken, but not very much.  If you love a cheeseburger I hope I didn't just ruin it for ya. hahaha 

 

Speaking of veggies.... I have been drowning my sorrows a little with paint.  Hours go whizzing by. My #4 Mom I call her was just hospitalized. Please pray for Mom Freda and her family. She was diagnosed with Sundowners syndrome and her husband has Alzheimer's. It a difficult time her children & family.  I also could use a little extra money with so many things coming up and things breaking.  Don't you find that sometimes happens all at once? I am putting most of my small pieces on Ebay.  Click HERE to see what's there.  My sister,  SandyPetals, who I love so much, has been encouraging me to zendoodle like she does, I've dabbled, but when I make a mistake or a line I don't like...it's over, but she says there are no mistakes, just do it, she said paint some eggplants!  So I did, then radish, then peppers, then cherries, and green beans....

 

 

These turned out to be "happy little paintings" as someone once said.  haha The doodle paintings surprise me when they are finished.  I love eggplants - but that's another post!  I've done 2 eggplant paintings, 2 radishes, cherries...  I started these & can't quit.   I want to paint some for my kitchen or at least make prints for my kitchen.  I'm fond of the radishes. I love to eat radishes now but I didn't use to. I salt them and let them sit for 1/2 hour or so.   Hey they are also good on egg salad!

Create a great day!

P.H.D. completed? ....

...Project Half Done that is.  I love zipper bags. My zipper bags have zipper bags. I use them for everything.  I have my make-up in 3 or 4 zipper bags, (yes organized, eyes, lips, etc ...) however,  most of that I don't use everyday but I pull out my make-up bags & they sometimes end up on my counter  for a day even though it takes 2 seconds to put them back in the cabinet.  I don't like that.  If you are a Follower of my blog you might already know about my "Hidey Holes", they are places I put things in so things are out of sight, just one tiny example is a antique large green bell pepper cookie jar filled with vitamins, aspirin, cough syrup, etc... in my kitchen, that jar would be classified as a "Hidey Hole", a medicinal hidey hole. hahaha   Basically they save me, I can have lots of crap but not look like it. haha   True story. When I was a kid my Mom had us shove clutter from the coffee table under a couch cushion when company came calling. hahaha  In her defense, she was married to Dad who doesn't like his clutter touched & had 4 kids, personally I thought it was brilliant at the time.

3 years ago (I know, craft hoarder) I saw this ugly worn jewelry box at the thrift store for $5. (The picture doesn't do it's homeliness justice, I thought $5 was a lot for it.) I also thought it might be perfect to put my everyday make-up/facial things in and a few pieces of costume jewelry or what nots - basically a new Hidey Hole for my dressing area.  

When I got it home & started painting. First primed it with white.

I drew out flowers, and painted it black.I didn't like the flowers.  

 

So I changed the flowers to Hydrangeas, which I love.

 

 

Then I decided I didn't want that for make-up. I like my zipper bags, they take up less space and swore off leaving them on the counter.  So I just put it in it's own hidey hole and left it. Well I pulled it back out a few weeks ago and decided I finish it and if I didn't want it I would just re-donate  it or give it away. But as I was finishing it I thought I would use it to house lots of sewing notions that I grab often, bobbins, rippers, stuff that .  

 

I liked it black and may turn it back to black...  

 

 

 

...but for now I am leaving the pop of red color on it.

 

 

 

I still have to varnish it or wax it...one day...

I hope this inspires you to make something new again!

Blessings

Squirrel ! ...

.... and I'm off!  That didn't take long did it? Today I was "squirreled" after viewing an online artist friend's new video.  Mystele Kirkeeng.   She is a Mixed Media Diva!  She makes it look so easy & not messy at all.  I love to watch her process and I am happy that I have some of her art.  Well right there on the side bar was a video by Betty Franks, Mystic Tulip Art, (click on their names to view their videos)  and her colorful doodle painting caught my eye so I watched Betty and I then painted & doodled all day.  I love mixed media pieces. I try, I make a mess, I have fun for awhile then I start thinking too hard, I get stuck, or I ruin it somehow, anyway I'm not ever super happy with the end result ...  then I clean up the mess & vow not to do it again for a long while...  But these were fun! It's just paint & ink. No stamping, poking, scraping, coloring, spraying (well I didn't spray. I dabbed ;)  I actually did some paintings like this in 2008 or 2009. I even resorted to my white lines like my ol' folky folk art I used to do.  

I took pictures of my process today so you could see that too.

 A great tip that Betty has for doodling is what I am gonna call the "double doodle".

Going over your lines twice and not perfectly does look really good!

 

 I already have some ideas for more and will probably think of a few more when I'm trying to get to sleep.

I did these little spontaneous pieces yesterday.

All 3 of the latter are ACEOs. 

Now I'm off to bed with paint in my head! 

Blessings!

Back to Black...

...Painting my little women; starting with a black canvas and letting them come to life with out drawing or planning, like my Aura Angels in the past, is as comforting as a hot bowl of Chickin' & Dumplin's and a lot less calories & carbs.  I almost felt like my old self today painting these, then felt a little lost.  Since I haven't been able to paint much the past 2 years, maybe I've been forcing it when I sit down to paint, maybe I've been drawing too much, maybe thinking too much, maybe getting too squirreled by new things.... I look at the pieces I did today and they make me feel good. It looks like they are doing all the thinking for me. hahaha They are a little wonky, scratchily scrubbed, rough brushed (my brushes are in desperate shape & calling me all kinds of names).  They were soothing yet exciting, in an unwrapping a present really slow kind of way. Well not too slowly because I didn't spend a lot of time on them or fret over them. They are all small. 2 ACEOs, 4 x 4" & 6 x 5".  A few I like better than others but each one was a journey.  I actually started a few more with different colored backgrounds who knows how many I will do.

Actually all my drawing/doodling wasn't in vain because I came up with an easy method of drawing/painting faces using circles.  It fires up my right brain and I start seeing people's faces in circles, ovals, oblongs, soft squares, etc...  hahaha I think it's might be good for a beginner portrait artist or experienced artist who just want to have fun and try something new.  I plan to start working on a tutorial for that as soon as I find out how to properly do a tutorial.  I have seen many Artist selling their tutorials or classes, however, I have never purchased a tutorial from anyone so I don't know if they use pictures or videos. 

 

 

Create a great day!

A Short Short Story...

 

 

 

"Immersed"

 

The End

Have been down with a virus but I'm taking a turn for the better.