The Enemy

I am probably my own worst enemy but I figure the bad guy shoving me is Time!

I've been working on my windows for the Altered Book class and I have not chosen a large enough book so it has been challenging to find spots to fit in windows, never mind a door!  I had made one window already but a visit to my friend who has a stationary store made me the recipient of some great leaf glassine paper that I just had to put in.  I will be ready for the reveal on Monday.

Of course, I also tried something extra. Perfect Pearls on a black gesso page. I'll try for a better photo but this made me think spring as that is the section I'm also putting the green paper shown in the top photo.  I need a good 'springing to life from the darkness' quote!

Then while I was searching through supplies I decided to try some artist's tape- drafting tape which resists paint and comes off after. Pretty cool.

Then I did another spread and went to bed.  But I knew it wasn't quite done.

So instead of making up for the time I lost sleeping in ...

I made it mine! 

Now this sketch book is all about trying things I see as I do my blog roll.

My friend, Les, at MarveLes Art Studios is doing some great stuff, as are Holly at Through My Window, and Jan, at Dandelion and Daisy.   I have two pages with post it notes for a couple of ideas to try.  Comparing outlining in black and white, and then I want to do a page with cutting text from a book page perhaps giving my gouache and new watercolours a try.  I briefly considered a screen print from Margi, at Scrap Wisdom Collage, but an alarm bell went off and I realized time was up, again!

I need some more time!  Some enemy is stealing it!

WOW catching up!

I'm awaiting a rainy day so the melamine can be cut for the table that will hold the quilt overflow behind Nina.

In the meantime I have little Mini pressed into service as I work on my Calendar Journal.

Nice spread but somehow I lost a week!  Kinda like my whole summer.  lol  Now I need to add a week so I have to insert another page which needs to coordinate with the pages on each side. 

What to do???

Get creative!!!

This is the third week of July.

This is the fourth week of July.

I did rework this last week of July and the beginning of August.  

I think it could use some more work as it is a transition from hot July to cooler August but I need to think about it some more.

The results of thinking of it some more.  Now I'm going to stop thinking. Every spread can't be 'the best'!

August will be a cooler palette.   This is week one.

Week two

And then week three sees a sewn pocket which I really like and want to do more of  but I need better planning to incorporate them.

I am getting better at recording pertinent memories each day on a calendar page and then I can put the actual page into a pocket for posterity!

In reorganizing my playroom/studio I have a few work stations and I'm really pleased with how things are working out.  Now I just need to catch up!

I'm also behind on my postings for The Needle and Thread network.  I'll have to catch up on all the progress my Canadian neighbours are achieving.  It is WIP Wednesday #52 @ TN&TN so happy birthday to us!

Intentional Blogging 5 Content

Remembering my own voice and to whom I'm writing is a great start for a blog post.  To keep the focus involves some planning about the contents, the innards, the heart of the message.

1) A catchy title is a great starting point.  It gets the key into the lock.

2) Once the lid is lifted, the first few sentences will reveal whether it is worth lifting that tissue paper or old scarf off the contents of the old trunk

3)  Trunks often have an assortment of articles but I'm thinking of a jewelry box, so I want to examine the two to three most interesting pieces.  Are they connected, clearly examined in the light that now shines into the chest?  What happens to them?

4)  Closing up the lid is the hardest part as far as I'm concerned.  What was the best ornament? What will we do with it and is the box worth revisiting?   What does one do with the key and the contents???

Tucking into Monday

I decided Mondays will be a good day for my on line classes.  I did read the first lesson on Colorlove 101 but then remembered my Altered Book tutorials and my calendar journal.   So...

No colorlove just yet! lol

But I can combine the other two.  Pockets were the last tutorial I did and I think they will be a great addition to the journal.  My memory is toast so I need to find a better way to remember what is memorable.  Tags!  And tucking them into pockets works for me!

I can't believe I 'lost' 2 weeks in July.  I got Jolina's birth day but there will be some vague picture images happening.  sheesh  This is the back of June and the title page for July

I was running out of time so I'll need to fill these in better.  This is where the memory lapse stated. lol

I need to have a better idea of what the week's layout will be to incorporate room for the best event of the week.  Hopefully the 14th was a loss of memory day!  I'm learning the value of outlining with a black pen. Then the numbers will show up better.

I need to do some creative inserting as I missed a whole week in placing the pages.  :(  This is a real bummer when two coordinating pages have to be separated.  A valuable lesson to learn is that mistakes can be fixed very creatively!
I felt that I finished kinda messy and weak..  :((  I do think I will have another look at these two as I head into this next month.

But I have been doing better in August.  The left is the last few days of July and I started right in with August 1st.  The pocket is deli paper!  But I should try to get some more brown on this page as...

August needs a cooler palette.   I'm starting to get a better, more groovy flow.

I want to do more sewn pockets and that takes a bit more planning.  The next lesson for the Altered books was zippers and I'm resisting as they aren't turning my crank. But doors and windows is going to be good.  I have one or two already in my Leaves book and the lesson has some more cool ideas.

I also like the 2 page journal spread in the sorta watercolour sketchbook and try for one or two times a week.  Radiant Rain is pretty cool!

I'm still juggling all my various projects.  The barn/workroom is very physical so I do that on alternate days.  I'm still tweaking my mixed media drawers so they are handy.  The pegboard needs painting and the melamine needs cutting and legs figured out so I can get sewing.  I do feel we are making progress and the to-do list is getting tattered as it goes in and out of the pocket for checking and crossing off.  Four more pavers for the walk and then the fence posts.

Taking Time

I'm behind on my calendar  but I think having a work desk at the end of my craft table just for this journal will work out well and actually writing on the calendar for referencing will be most helpful!  lol

The peg board over the work counter will be wonderful.  I shall give it a light coat of paint and be on the lookout for the handy dandy peg board accessories. I've never really looked for them before.  Now I have options. ;^) Hopefully Canadian Tire carries them and I can use my Canuck Truck money to get them!

The reduced workspace is not a problem as I've discovered that no matter the square footage available I only manage to keep about 2 square feet actually clear!  :(

This is water colour crayons with salt sprinkled on the the wet surface.

I had to go for function over form and use the two old IKEA chests under the craft table as the shallow but large square drawers held so many odd shaped things.  The rolling shelving units they replace will go out to the workroom which is progressing well.  I still need to sort through a few miscellaneous piles of books and memorabilia.  I need a rainy day.

Now these were not actually necessary for my on-line workshop but I have always wanted to try Twinkling H2O's and a few Silks with a misting of Radiant Rain seemed nice additions.  I'm learning about what makes a useful stamp as well.  So I need now to set up a day for doing the lessons and take the time to make rainbows that lead to pots of gold.

Thinking Pink

Summer is swinging by at great speed.  I need to keep a bit of a better eye on the clock, the time and my calendar.

Creativity 101 is all about pink.  The scrapbook album has just about all the pages it can hold so we shall continue to cut and glue and paste, learning as we go.

The magazine journal is shaping up to be about faces and hearts.  We'll see how many different ways we can incorporate this stencil.

The newest grand baby is in danger of getting left somewhere as she is such a snoozer and so very good!

I do need to get a bit better organized as I'll be seeing a lot more of the older grand kiddies as their house begins renovations.  I was telling Jenn we'll be using her day care skills if the dynamic duo join us for Creativity 101.  I wonder how Josh will feel about pink?

Intentional Blogging 4 Type

While there are an innumerable number of kinds of blogs; there are only two types.  Personal and Topical.

My life is not interesting enough for any kind of in depth analysis of my naval!

Topical could be a tad dry if I just stuck to facts, figures and techniques.

So this is actually kinda easy.  I shall stick to the topic of creativity but personalize it with how I develop creativity as it relates to things that I care about.  That would be where I live and work and play-  my home.
It is about the journey as well as the project.

There are no shortage of topics for creating a creative home, whether it be the art on the wall, the hand work on the tote bag and matching scarf, the colour and design of the rooms, the vignettes for the tables, the best way to disguise the cracks in the plaster, or the altered book on the coffee table.  There are more ideas than time to do them all.

Could combining both types lead to a third?  Whatever!  I'm blogging creatively on a topic I personally find fascinating!

Horse Power

Its a long weekend here and it is also a special week as the town and municipality celebrate their Centennial. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride came to be part of our special celebrations.

After a great show the Mounties spread around the perimeter and talked. They were amazed by the number of people as they expected this little town gathering and they rewarded us with a super display of horsemanship and lots of smiles!  This young man has been with the ride one year and his horse is named Steel and is the largest at 7' 3".  He luvs attention and accommodated all the petting.  We were sitting down on a bleacher opposite the grand stand and we were up close and personal.  :)

There were fire works afterwards and again we just turned our backs on the parade ground and looked across a pond which is the inside of the oval race track. We had a good show of all the fireworks.  The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold and a bit of a breeze.

This weekend we used a different kind of horse power to wrestle some of the bridge planks about as we see them as raised beds for the garden.  Thank goodness the Rooster understands leverage and pivot points as these are 20 feet long, 6 inches thick and we try to even them up and cut them to 17'.  I am also thankful for all the horse power the tractor provides!

Today I got some excellent progress done inside the big barn.   I should be able to wash the walls down pretty soon!   No horse power, just chick power.  LOL

The Coop and Saucer Playroom/Studio

My sewing space has had a place in probably every room of the house.

As the kids left the space became a room.

I realized it could even be in the biggest bedroom since the Rooster didn't care where  he slept as long as he had a window to survey his kingdom and give the wake up call to all under his wings!

So here is what the first 11' x 12' sewing space looked like.  The worst thing about this room is the west facing window.

I would soon bediscovering that ALL that bulletin board stimulation is not good for me.  I had no grand kiddies so I amused myself with a couple of dolls.  

I was in full sewing mode.  I had also just become somewhat computer savvy.

I'd never had a sewing cabinet but realized I needed to get my machine down flat for machine quilting.  These cabinets are not cheap because the lift is so expensive.  I didn't realize I'd never really use the lift. Nor did I know about standing to sew.  There are also a lot of corners to bump my hips on!

Then I got a better idea.  I was trying to reduce visual stimulation.  I now had two machines on the go. 

I was trying to get more efficient and reduce clutter so I tried cutting on the counter and confined the computer to a small desk.  I don't know where the heck I put the cutting table in this makeover but I needed it back.  The ol' sore back, ya know! .

So I put that folding cutting table at the end of the sewing cabinet and stored the spare machine which I used for my student on it.  It was handy for the odd thing and then I discovered that I really liked standing. I was using it for all my piecing of quilt blocks.  I was also beginning to discover mixed media art.

Then I got a bigger heavier sewing machine, my Nina.  We got some good deals at an auction. A wee trim on the legs and Nina had a solid base.  The old sewing cabinet became the computer desk.

One more modification to the old IKEA media cabinet and I figured this was as good as it gets.

But things are pretty cramped.  My poor hips! There are only 2 plugs in this room. I have extension cords threaded around and through and taped on the floor. And really, I must admit that having the computer in the room is a great distraction so...

 Here I go again!

I'm trying to do it properly.  So I hung hooks for aprons and work shirts on the main door which will mostly stay open.  The old office cabinet will hold stuff for Creativity 101 and I'm thinking to paint it aqua.  The closet door got the bulletin board hung.The closet also has the darn ironing board that never seems to fit anywhere!  It also has my old school cupboard for my whites, beiges, browns and blacks as well as some books.  Under the low knee wall is the cupboard that has the canvas cubes holding scraps which are easy to haul out to the light.

The ironing station.  This was another piece we got at that great auction.  It holds large stencils and large sheets of  paper.  I wanted a shelf for the supplies and I thought if I can run a sewing machine and slice accurately with a rotary cutter I should be able to run the Rooster's chop saw.  Heart pounding, I finally got it going and ... easy peasey.  In fact I went out again and cut a back board for the desk that butts up to the cutting table.  whoo hoo!

But I think I will leave the table that will go behind Nina to the Rooster. lol  I am sew excited about this corner and can't wait to get back to more quilting.

I want to make new white curtains for the storage shelves.  It will be a design area. By putting the computer in the hallway I will loose my design wall so I must rethink that and the best I can come up with is two big hooks in the ceiling in front of the mixed media counter that I can suspend my big wooden dowel and flannelet sheet  from. I'll roll it up in between projects.   I figure when I'm doing a big quilt I won't be doing too much at that counter.  It should also save me all those steps from sewing machine to out in the hall and back again!

I want the Rooster to make another box for the top of the last unit.  I'm also thinking that possibly a peg board on the wall might keep me entertained if I get the urge to rearrange anything any time soon.  :(

Interestingly,  I noticed that I have come full circle.  This is pretty similar to how I originally had the room.  I must learn to trust my instincts a little more.

So I'm thrilled but not quite done. I have to edit the books, shuffle the contents of the drawers around a bit and find creative places for the leftovers that are stacked in the hallway!  That could possibly the workroom out in the barn.  I know one thing.  It isn't coming back in to clutter up the Coop and Saucer Playroom/Studio.

Any chicks wanna join me for a cuppa?  We can sit around and soak up all the ambiance!  VBSIGH

What in the world...

My work table had half the playroom on it this morning as I reorganize my workspace.  Monday I had switched around the 3 shelving units and had some difficulty getting the box over the larger shelving unit back in place. The Rooster did his magic and in it went!  Yesterday I cut grass and broke into a new area only to come to an abrupt halt.  I did finish but I'm scalping grass badly.  "It only needs a little adjustment, heh, heh!", has turned into needing an whole new blade.  vbsigh  :(

I managed to shuffle stuff all about in order to do Creativity 101 with my gal.  The room must be giving off good vibes as she worked for 2 hours on her scrapbook.  :)  We had some tea and then quickly painted a page in her magazine/art book so she can add a stencil next week.

Gosh, a new month and I have lots that still needs doing.

Hopefully I'll have some more polished photos of the playroom/studio tomorrow.