I Live On the Edge...

...   of a Miwok Indian reservation,  the American River, "Gold Country",  the Sierras, hilly country sides dotted here & there with rambling vineyards, tall pines, redwoods, scrub oaks and apple orchards.  Lately,  I have been so drawn to native American Indian designs, especially if it's campy ala vintage summer camp.  (BTW I am a proud daughter of a  Potawatomi Indian. ) I started a board on Pinterest called Pow Wow and started some little paintings  (below) reflecting my home now and my family.   I am working on a piece for this year's Twitter Art Exhibit in Norway. I may send one of these.  It sure feels good to paint again, to lose all my worries in paint. Hours melt into hours. 

Some of these little ones remind me of deer hunters who sit in the trees for hours.  A few have river water with river rock. One not shown has a sweet bird on a branch I can't wait to paint.  I'm not sure how many I have drawn but it's a lot as well as a large canvas so I have lots of painting to do.  I am still working on some little pieces from the Love is a Blanket series too with vintage fabrics. 

 Pieces In Progress

Yarn is like comfort food to me. Whenever I am going through a stressful time I always end up with a bag of yarn & needles in my hand.  I learned to crochet when I was 7 yrs old and I still love it. (I used to fashion my own Troll Doll clothes.)  So I have been crocheting away, making some of these "pow wow" slippers using up my shameful stash of new & vintage yarn.  You can find a pair at "Camp Shenanagans"!  haha  I have an expert cross stitcher/needleworker ready to work with me so order away!   They are so happy on your feet and warm too!  

 

 

I don't know what happened to January. Happy belated New Year. :)

I promise to post more this year.

Create a great day!

Ta Da ! I Tried It Thursday...

... This week I tried "Hot Glue Stencils" for Mixed Media paintings & art projects. I used wax paper to do mine on.  It tears off pretty easy. I started with my smallest glue gun and using small strings of glue like the video, however, they tend to break when you are pulling the stencil off the paper.  I think that this would be the case no matter what you put the glue on.  So I pulled out the big glue gun and this worked much better, the strings are larger and it's easier to pull off the paper.  You could put a design under the paper to guide your glue gun.  This was a fun project and I am already using and loving my re-usable hot glue stencils! Click  HERE  to go to Pinterest to view some more ideas for hot glue stencils.

God Bless & Create A Great Day!

Ta Da I Tried It Thursday...

... I tried several things this week.  Having a purple thumb, actually I should say yellow thumb because that's the color all my plants turn before I kill them off. hahaha  Coming home from the grocery with 2 bunches of celery, I remembered seeing this Pin on Pinterest and decided to see if it would really work.  I washed the celery cut the bottom off (cut the rest up & put in water for snacks in the frig) then I removed some stalk pieces then placed in a little water & set it in the window.  Well to my surprise it does look like I'm growing more celery! In just a few days there were new leaves. When it has more roots I'm going to try planting it outside. I placed it a glass on top of a tiny antique hand painted plate. I have a set of these & I love them. I always look for them in antique shops & thrift stores. I am never afraid to use my antiques or vintage items. I use them & enjoy them. 

Another thing I tried this week is Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies,  a No Bake, No Fat, Gluten Free Cookie Recipe. My mother has made these all my life, only this recipe you can make in 5 minutes start to finish in the microwave instead of boiling on the stove.  The recipe says 20 min but that's just crazy talk unless you are walking to the store to get your ingredients! Here is the Pin & Recipe.  It was so quick & simple, & such a small batch that I decided to experiment with it.  I replace 1/2 of the sugar with Stevia In the Raw and they still turned out great.   I also made a batch using 3/4 C of oatmeal instead of 1/2 C, even better!

Ta Da!

Ta Da I Tried It Thursday!...

... Today is my first Ta Da Thursday. I decided I would share & demo all of my messes  projects that I do on a regular basis.  I have tried a lot of quick projects & recipes because of Pinterest.  (You can click on the word Pinterest to view & follow my boards) I can't promise I will do this every Thursday but I will "try". :)

I am working on 2 mixed media/collage projects for 2 friends.  I might share these projects at a later date.  I don't do a lot of mixed media/collage but I love it. I had forgotten how it sets you free & really turns the light on in your right brain, your creativity really gets turned up a notch.  Because I don't do a lot of mixed media or journaling I don't have a lot of stamps.  So this week I tried the Styrofoam Faux Lino Carving I had in my Crafty Cravings Board.  After a great supper of take-out Chinese Chicken & Eggplant from our local favorite, I cut out & washed the lid of my Styrofoam container.  BTW I hate eating food that have been in those containers, I always take it out of those before I store it in the frig. I used to wish they would use paper cartons, now forget about it, gimme that Styrofoam.   Here is the "Pin" that was the inspiration for me to try it...

I drew a little portrait. You can see I messed up on her eyes. This taught me that there are no do-overs on this foam. If you want a clean cut, then I suggest you draw your image on thin paper & trace onto the foam. If it isn't deep that's ok you can always go over it & make it deeper. Obviously  I didn't take care to wash the stamp between colors, just went crazy stamping. 

You can see  by the print in the upper left corner in pink how you can paint only a portion of the stamp, even get fancy and add several colors. (those eyes! haha) Humm... if I took my time, a new world of possibilities... 

After printing this, honestly I dug through the garbage to get my son's carton to try writing on it. Thankfully it wasn't buried or I'd be calling in another order! haha  I knew it would print backwards but does anyone really read the printing anyway? Next time I will slant my writing to the left so that it will print out slanted to the right more like the stamps that you purchase. 

I didn't use ink. I used acrylic paint (Americana craft paint) for this experiment & old Bristol vellum coated paper that I used for charcoals.  I think you would definitely get a smoother print with ink & different papers. The acrylic paint picks up the grainy texture of the Styrofoam so most likely it would with ink as well...

So all in all I was pleasantly surprised with the results. I didn't feel like it was a waste of time to try it. It's definitely easier to carve than lino.  Also I think in a pinch that Styrofoam could work nicely as a quick stencil as well if you pressed the foam to flatten it out.  I plan to make some stamps for mixed media, journaling or collage with Styrofoam... Hum... a good excuse to eat out. I need another doggie bag!

If you try this I'd love to see it!  Is there something new you have tried lately? 

Create a Great Day!

Pinterest Project...

...  I think I will start posting the Pinterest projects I see & try after I do them. When I saw this leaf table runner posted on Pinterest  from Martha Stewarts's website I knew I had to make one.  Click HERE to see hers. Of course hers is perfectly pieced in pastel colors & neatly ironed. Mine's not ironed yet ( I just finished & took the photo with my phone - sorry)  but I'm not sure I'm going to iron it. I kind of like the little curling of the leaves and my home is woodsy so... I used 6 different earthy toned fabric scraps and I used a lot more leaves than Martha did.  This is a great way to use up your fabric scraps! I had to stop myself from adding more & more. I can see this used outside on the patio or for a picnic at the river, even as a cool curtain!   I laid out the leaves then hand stitched them together. Even hand stitching with a whip stitch, the entire project took only about 4 hours start to finish.  I made a pattern by drawing & cutting out a leaf shape on sturdy paper (junk mail actually) then used that to cut out my fabric pieces.  Then serged around all the edges.  The serger doesn't like to go in a circle or curves so I started at the point of the leaf then serged to the bottom and then did the other side, so it wasn't continuous sewing.  If you don't have a serger here is an alternate way to construct this runner would be to use your zigzag stitch & carefully stitch around the edges or to double your fabric with right sides together, stitch the leaf shape leaving a gap to turn the fabric. Constructing in that way, you could use 2 different fabrics to make it reversible but you will use more fabric and it will take a lot more time. I'm easily bored so I like speedy projects, instant gratification, if they take too long they usually become "UFO"s (unfinished objects) and I have plenty of those.   I have created 2 Boards on Pinterest for sewing.  One is "Feed The Machine" which has lots of free embroidery & embroidery ideas and the other is "Sew Loved".   Just click & follow! Stay tuned, more Pinterest Projects I try! I will be posting them in the future!

Hot! Hot! Hot!

... I like it hot, hot, hot! I created a Pinterest Board for all my hot finds! Click Here to check it out &  Follow. I have quickly become a "Pin-addict". I love Pinterest and spend way too much time there!
Here's one of my recent concoctions, I mean recipes I am sharing and adding to my Board.

 

I'm calling it "Maui Ouiweee"  or "Kilauea in a Pineapple Patch" or "Make me Hula" hahaha

Please let me know what your favorite name is and if you try it, please let me know!  I may start working on my 2nd Hot Pepper cookbook.  I write them, do the art work, print them, bind them & give them away, ...who knows maybe one day I'll put one in a shop.

 

2 large Serrano peppers

2 cloves garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp citric salt (I didn't have limes but if I did I'd have used 1/2 lime)

1 1/2 tbsp. srirracha

1 can of crushed pineapple

1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes

I used the emersion blender on the peppers, garlic & tomatoes, then mixed into the crushed pineapple with remaining ingredients. It's hard to stop eating it!

 

Just listed some New Holiday Designed Embroidered Coasters in my Shenanagans Shop.  So far these are turning out to be "hot" items! You know I couldn't resist that. haha  

All joking aside I am pleasantly surprised how much people like these.  I have given them as gifts and have sold quite a few sets already. It makes me feel good when people like what I do, I get a little kindred spirit feeling.  I am working on some new cuff bracelets.  I'm such a "Plain Jane" that it's hard for me to go over the top and I've been told I need to go over the top with them! 

I'll post them when they are finished.

Create A Great Day!

 

 

 

 

A Fit to Knit!...

...why yes those are chopsticks from Chinatown! hahaha  Hubby & I have been staying in the Nob Hill district in San Francisco for week. We got take out in Chinatown for dinner & brought it back to our suite. I obviously ate mine with a fork!  Cast On is as far as I got before we jumped on a Cable Car & walked off dinner down at the Wharf. 
On Monday I had the day to myself & I walked downhill to Sutter St & hung out in the ArtFibers store for quite a while.  I bought some beautiful yarn and got lots of inspiration.  They let you knit or crochet with the yarn to try it out & will give you a swatch of it, which is so nice! Making a decision was hard but I ended up with the Majolica #5. It's a blend of 70% Merino wool & 30% silk and it feels like butta! I had my crochet hooks with me because I am working on my 3rd sweater made with this Chevron Pattern. I actually made one in a day on the way to San Simeon last month.

It's quick & easy & as you can see really flattering.  I didn't bring my knitting needles with me and I just couldn't risk going back to ArtFibers to buy another pair, which I don't need, & I know I wouldn't be able to resist the turquoise blue/green Majolica #6! It looks like beautiful mermaid yarn! I have been working on a freeform crochet piece in turquoise, blues & greens and it would be perfect for it.  We aren't leaving until Friday afternoon so I may wander back in there.  I planned to make this scarf with the new yarn.  An easy 1 Row pattern. They had a scarf in the store made with this pattern and had added some large pendant type beads to the ends of the rows. It was pretty!

Tomorrow is our last day before heading home. The only thing on our agenda for tomorrow is to pop into the Dick Blick store. I swear I hear Angels sing when I walk into an art supply store...then the devil attacks my pocketbook! hahaha  If you are having a fit to knit or crochet check out my Hooked & Needle Board & Great Granny Board on Pinterest  HERE you'll find some nice patterns & inspiration.

Rollin' In Dough...

...real dough that is!   This is how my son & I spent the morning....

We even ground our own chicken & pork for the filling, which consisted of carrots, cabbage, bean sprouts, garlic, celery & green onions; then a little soy sauce, salt & pepper.  Some Chinese Five Spice was added to the pork dumplings.  We tested the filling by putting a little of it on a dish in the microwave for a minute.  We had fun!  Clean up was easy too because I laid out brown paper all over the counter tops before we started.  

*Dough Recipe*

2 Cups

1 Cup warm water

Put all in food processor and process until it clumps together & is a smooth ball.  Dust with flour, wrap in plastic and let rest 20 min. while you make your filling.  Divide dough in half, then roll into log about 10" long. Cut log into 1/2 pieces. Then flour & roll into 3" circles. Spoon about a tablespoon of filling into center, fold over, then crimp edges. 

If you love dough, please check out  more great recipes & follow my Pinterest Board "Rollin' In Dough"! Click HERE.

Create A Great Weekend! God Bless!

A Little Word on Wednesday...

John 15:10 ...'If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.'

I wanted to post a beautiful painting of Christ by Raymond Doward , a fellow Etsy Seller, along with this scripture but for some reason Blogger shuts off when I try to upload a photo.  You can check out his beautiful painting here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/150917711   I love his painting. The stern yet kind & loving expression.
I am having this problem with Yahoo email as well. Anyone else having this problem? Anyone know how to fix it?
I have been painting this week and while under the weather I have become a Pinterest Addict! You can check out my boards & favorite picks here: http://pinterest.com/folkartjane/boards/  I especially love my board called "Crafty Cravings" which is full of inspiration and fun projects!

Create a Wonderful Wednesday!

Pinned & Lit Up

...  I love Pinterest! I hope you follow me there as well. Just click on the button to the right. I find the greatest things there and people too! It is inspiring to see all of my favorite things rather than go through scores of links. I am a visual person. Here is a glass bottle project tutorial that I have made simple for you from tutorials I've found there!

Start a fire...

Drill some holes...

Add some Chain...

I don't have a shot glass collection but if I did.....