Tuesday's Altered Thoughts

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Yesterday I had my little doodle bug again. He was sick but the only time he cried was when I gave him green beans. It was hard not to laugh because he really grimaced & hollered! I had never seen him cry like that so it was a little shocking. He made it clear he did not want those green beans. Other than that he was an angel again. He can do razz berries now and is scooting around pretty well. His mom picked him up early and took him to the doctor. It turned out that he has a double ear infection poor guy. My youngest son (a preemie) is the same way. He was a very sick until he was about 7 or 8 years old but he would never complain. I would just know he wasn't well when his lymph nodes would swell (he had surgery to remove some of them) or by the look in his eyes. It's funny how JJ reminds me of my youngest son more than his dad, my older son. Anyway, I think he's the sweetest little guy on the planet. I take a picture of him every time he's over (at least once a week) so I am gonna have to get it in gear and start a scrapbook for these pictures.

Hayley Egan presented me with a blog award! Thanks Hayley! She has a lovely blog you should check it out. I have to list 7 things that I love then pass the award along. I have to give this some thought to come up with 7 things that aren't listed below, oh I'm sure I can do it! but will have to get back to you on that.

Tuesday's Altered Thoughts

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Ok you might think this is gross, (I sort of do), but I couldn't help myself, I couldn't throw it away! I made this doll nearly 18 years ago. The stains on the face are from my son's kisses. He loved this doll. He would carry it everywhere and kiss it and kiss it and kiss it. He is still a very kissy person, loving and sweet. I just had to keep it, kissing stains and all. It used to have a shirt and pants but those are long gone. My grandson was over and we went in my studio to look at all the colors and I spied this doll up in a dark corner of the closet. I pulled it down, showed it to JJ and he laughed and wanted it. I couldn't let him play with it because it's so dirty & beat up. That was rotten because I love to hear that baby laugh. I want to pull out one of my sewing machines when I'm finished with the commission painting I am working on. I am going to make JJ one. Isn't it strange how just a face with little rosey cheeks and 2 black dots for eyes can mesmerized kids?

I had an email this morning from a buyer in Maryland that hasn't gotten her paintings that were mailed priority on 2/14. I am worrying myself sick about it. I have the reciept for the postage but it doesn't have a tracking number on it. It wasn't insured but I am going to have to charge for or pay for insurance from now on. It's worth it. I may be repainting those for her and I hope I will be able to get them to look like the ones she purchased. I don't draw my angels out, I just paint and they usually let me know when they are finished. Well I have had a couple that I thought were finished, but they keep nagging at me, so I do more on them until they quit nagging or I completely ruin them. Like the white ACEO angels. I can't stand it that they are all white now. Maybe I was on color overload the day I painted them, but that didn't last long and they have been screaming at me. I think I will give them some color and make everybody happy. haha

A Balancing Act

Since my grandson was born last Friday it's been hard staying on top of things. I did finally paint some today! I will be mailing out that commission of 6 paintings either tomorrow or Saturday. Tomorrow & this weekend I will be concentrating on painting & try not to get sidetracked with yarn of any kind! I have noticed a big drop in sales since I haven't listed anything on auction at Ebay. I have to get back on that bus before everyone on Ebay forgets me and I lose my mojo there! I love Etsy more but unless you are spending a lot daily to list your things don't get seen. I listed a couple of prints of some Aura Angels yesterday on Etsy and some crocheted cuffs which by the way work great as coffee cup cozies - double duty! Slip one on your wrist in the morning, stop at your favorite coffee spot.... you'll be stylish & green! Yesterday I also worked on a new Zine but am having trouble getting it lined up perfectly to print out. I may end up taking it to the printers. It's about the sea and I wrote the poem for it. Those are fun to make but they are really time consuming.

I am considering being a moderator for an Altered Book subgroup of Swell Sisters, however, my biggest concern is the time factor. I've got my painting, all my other subgroups, computer groups, my blog, computer work, a new grandson, oh yes and the dreaded housework too. It will be a real balancing act and I don't know how I can pull it all off yet. Maybe just dive in and everything will balance itself out?? That I'm still debating. It will be August tomorrow and I am already stressing a little over what I will have in the art show in December. Aura Angels, Mermaids, still life, something else..... ????? Oils or acrylics or mixed media...???? What to do? What to do! We are having a speaker from a gallery at our next meeting so I am looking forward to that.

Little JJ is doing good but his blood levels still are not normal. I went with him to his first doctors appointment today. It broke my heart when they were trying to get blood and couldn't find the vein. He only cried while they were doing it, and stopped immediately after. He was an angel today. I could have held him all day and can't wait to see him again. Pictures just don't do him justice he's so cute!! I'm a proud gramma and who knows I may end up with one of the cheesey gramma brag books full of pictures to bore everyone I meet with! hahaha

My First Zine!

What's a Zine you say? It's a tiny 8 page magazine, card or book made from 1 piece of paper. This was so much fun!! I did a Old Fashioned Bee theme and have listed some for sale on Etsy. I had to come up with all the things to put on the page, then it was hours of frustration trying to get it to print out right! I used 110lb card stock. When I finally got it right, I added ribbon, antiqued the edges and added glitter to the bees wings. I have some other themes in mind to do. These are cool cards but are little gifts in & of themselves. Little tags, gift cards or notes could be stuffed into the open edges on a few of the pages. These would be great for altered art !
I need a bone folder asap! I love folding paper! When I was little and lived in Japan I was an origami geek! I had origami paper all over my room! I have forgotten most of it but I still can make cranes!

Ooo La La !

I spent all day on the collaborative book project and finally finished & it's ready to pass on. Remember my room yesterday.....well it's worse today! I went with a Josephine Baker/Paris theme. She was quite a fascinating person ! I put a little accordion pop out piece that tells a little about her on one page. I stumbled upon her story a few months ago while looking at pictures of the 20's & 30's. Of course I had heard of her prior to that but never really read anything about her. There was a movie done about her and I'd love to see it, but will have to buy it to see it, as they don't have it at my nearest video store. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Baker.

I had a lot of fun doing this book! It really gets your art on ! As you can see my 2 pages are completely different from one day to the next! You can click on the pictures to see them larger. My son came in at 2:30 this afternoon and I had a cold cup of coffee, still in my pajamas thinking it was about 11 & time for another cup! The day just flew by. My son & his girlfriend even cooked dinner! I think I'll keep the mess a few more days and work on some journal covers with some of my angels on the front. If you haven't tried altered art yet what are waiting for? Get out your scissors & glue! Let your imagination take you away! You might end up somewhere you never dreamed of!