And the score is...

hhmm.  You wanna know something.  I am no good at math and I NEVER keep score in a game or in life.  I am not one of those who shall remain nameless (Cock a doodle do nor first peep peep) who obliterate the accomplished item from not only the initial page but the impression three pages down.  LOL 
I do not count stitches, yardage, hours or finished projects.  And if I am now forced to carry a list to town it is usually to check to confirm I missed a few things when I return home.  ;)

The seasonal accessories are all under their covers.  My stuff is pretty much done except for the paint cans.  I'm waiting on the Rooster to figure out how he wants his spices arranged in the pantry.  :O  Then we'll tackle the tools and paint. I may have some paint for that far back corner which will have a clothes bar set up when the boxes for the kitchen remodel leave.  Feels good.  Move ahead five free jumps!

I did a deep clean  of the upstairs and found some missing fabrics for my wall hanging. I'm think I'm at the miss a turn stage of the game with it as I think and then decide about stenciling or stamping any leaves on it.

If the name of the game is fun, I am advocating this sticky back foam for stamps.  LUV it!  This technique just skips me right into the final round with confidence that I'm a contender for the prize.  :)

I am feeling my points adding up in my copycat journal. Unlike solitaire this involves watching the other player's moves and then that  makes you think about your next move.  Its good.

The year long monthly technique class from Julie Balzer is really helping me understand how to do things.  I signed up for the 12 months of classes and I am definitely getting my moneys worth.

I can have a leisurely play time this evening with my scrapbook layout and reflect on a score that reveals that this week's work was fun indeed!

and a child shall lead them

I was watching a watercolour tutorial and my grandson asked if that was art!  I said yes and he said, "Let's do it!".

I did the part where liquid was used and I really liked it.  It drys permanent and it sprays wonderfully.  We tried several things and sometimes he was more successful than I!

He sprayed on a stencil on some scrap paper and I captured the stencil print on extra watercolour paper.

I found the colours to be very vibrant even when diluted. We used the same stencil but moved it over a wee bit for the second colour and that was enlightening. ;)

While everything was drying we turned to making stamps and using acrylics.  He made a LOT of confetti with my cutter but we did get a house built into the existing landscape.

A left handed boy and zig zag scissors was a challenge so we switched to regular scissors. The little bits of leftover zigs and zags turned out to be fantastic for adding leaves to the main canopy!

Yes, Josh.  It is ART!

tuting

I am trying not to over heat as we experience a heat wave.  whoo!   I need to make up some samples with little tutorials for DD#1 and get these all into a 12 x 12 box and sent away!  The box is going to be a challenge in itself.

I started plain and simple. This youngster is now five and trying to get the front wheel of his two wheeler up off the ground like the big boys!  :O  Posting these is great.   hmmm?  I may need to find some upward motion to the space to the left of the bicycle.  I could make a u-turn and stamp some arrows in front of the bicycle!

Another painted white page (gelatos) with design decisions based on an oops! lol  The yellow dots are over kill but are down for good . ;)

 I decided not to guild the lily on this one.  The black page was a black and white pad I spontaneously grabbed.  It is sure gonna be useful!   

The gal in green was specifically to demo buttons.  The lettering should be more prominent so I also explain the not so good and how it can be improved. This DD is a perfectionist so I want her comfortable with 'good enough' as she learns.  I also forgot to 'thread'  the button holes!  Sorry for the blur.  I am working deadlines.  :(

Lots could make this better but I was limited to the size of her pages, the size of the photo and the pertinent area of the map I adhered with gel medium to the page.  I also believe that not every page should be a star as memories have the precedence.

I do have a few more great ideas to try and then I need to make the kits and find that box. 

I am very anxious to pick up where I 'leaved' off!   The stencils are cut and next will be the foam stamps. :)

Wow, laundry???

 I've been doing laundry and it hasn't been socks!  lol   No time for small stuff.  I'm thinking big!

 I need some fabric for block backgrounds.  So I sprayed away.  I might better have actually got out the dye apparatus but I was too far gone to stop and refocus.  ;)  This is the front which is more vibrant.

This is the back or underside of my spraying.  I was thinking that this might be too light and bright for what I have in mind.  The fabric is white feather ticking, a tight weave 100 % cotton  and cheap considering it is a good 100 inches wide.  I split it down the middle and it is still a bit wider than my table. In attempting to get all the fabric I started scootching it up.  aha!  I could get hills and valleys and maybe the colour would migrate around!  So I hung up the first piece to dry and found the rest of the fabric and started a second piece.

I wanted it a bit more muted and with some yellow greens.  I was a bit like a mad scientist.  I did try for hills and valleys. The movement was not quite what I hoped but still okay.

It has some blotchy areas as I tried different spray bottle nozzles.  Some were not sprays but spits!  :O  But I resisted doing more as I can fine tune later if necessary.

But I am sure to find the backgrounds I need in these two pieces so I can begin to think about the blocks themselves.  I want them to be about the size of my gelli plate.

 I need to make bigger/fuller leaf stencils and masks than I had used on my first attempt at making my own fabric.

 Then I remembered the Ikea fabric I bought for backing a lap quilt that also needed to be prewashed.

I now have some great inspiration for leaves.  These leaves are very close to my ideal!  It is coming together!!!

The rest of the week is gonna see housework, weeding and babysitting.  vbsigh  But I do hope to make some progress on getting my stencils and some more stamps made.  So I shall 'leaf you'  with a full laundry basket of fabric and a promise to turn over some new leaves next week.

I do believe I finally have something along the fabric line to show for The Needle and Thread Network.  I wonder what is in their laundry baskets?

If you build it...

will they come???

 'they' being my art elves that peer over my shoulder and study what I have gathered on my work table.

I wanted to be able to stamp as well as stencil so I got out my fun foam and traced through a stencil.

 I didn't totally stick to the plan as I do have to be able to cut this out.

  The cutting turned out to be surprisingly easy.

To better position the stamps I began to cut my foam board to echo the shapes.  The foam is sticky backed.

This really is easy peasy and lots of fun.  Not to mention slightly addictive!

I was a bit worried that the foam might be too thin so I just stuck two pieces of foam together and then cut shapes.

I hope the elves approve and show up for the test drive!  ;) ;)

Good, Better, Best!

I had planned to post yesterday but the Rooster beat me to the 'puter!  :O

The good news is that I have learned about fun foam.  This is the first step to making my own stamps.

This makes better imagery for my papers.

Good

Better

Best

I am really making progress on the finish-a-long.  I actually just about got the second bunk quilt done last night while the Rooster checked out his want ads!  :)

And we are closing in on finished for the North rooms.  Whoo Hoo! 

This week just started out good and got better and better.  The best is yet to be!

Stamps

While I believe everyone is creative, we can't do it all. The time it would take me to learn and produce a portrait would not be the best use of my time.  I not even sure I would want to.  The time it takes to sketch just the right motif on a journal page could kill the impetuous of the creative flurry on a page that is evolving faster than the pen can move.  lol

So- Enter stamps

Not my own but not exactly copyrighted. 

A thrift shop treasure box!  I shall share. One for the grand kiddies and one for Gram'elle, one for the grand kiddies and one for...

The book is full of great ideas for stamps and stamping.  These can be my own. The fact that I can do this just makes me stamp my feet and clap my hands with joy!