Tidbit: WIP snippet for Amy

Amy wanted to see this- this is what is pinned to my design wall at the moment, and is the next part of my WIP screen project, using my Lutradur and Lace challenge pieces. Hoping to finish this before my rep. friend comes on Tuesday (yes, I thought she was coming last Tuesday, but I was a week early!), so I can show it to her. And Amy, this is what I do when I am talking to you on the phone!

TTFN,

LB

Coming soon to a studio near you: new art supplies!

I hate shopping. I really really hate it. Unless of course it is for art supplies. And frankly, I don't much enjoy it then, it is just a tad bit more interesting to me than the other items I shop for: looking for clothes to fit my chunky short body, or buying expensive food that I am going to have to cook later, and won't last very long in this house of teenagers, or really pricey text books that my kids will only get half the way through, but thoroughly use enough that they lose their resale value.

So, it took me all day, to be tough with myself and only order what I felt I really need, in small enough quantities so as to be frugal, but large enough that I won't need to order again for a couple of months. Here is what I ordered, all online. I can't wait till it all gets here.

First, from JoAnn, I ordered a Crop-a-dile. I was able to use my 40% off coupon, and saved myself $16. I was so proud of myself. I plan on using this specifically for making screens and wall-hangings with the lutradur and lace panels I made. I hope it works like it says it does, if so, it will save me a lot of noise and aggravation!

Next, I needed more lutradur and wanted to get it in a roll, not folded, and in quantities larger than a yard. That really limited me when I was working with it. It took me so long to find the manufacturer, but once I did, ordering was easy. I was able to order it in two different weights (thickness), so it will be fun to experiment with this again.

Then I needed more paints. I found that I could buy both the rich and sparkly Lumiere and the bright, dye-like Dye-na-flow paints for significantly less moolah at Dharma Trading company. They also carry the irridescent Shiva Paintsticks for less, so I ordered one of those to try. Those puppies are so pricey! But I love what they do, so I will just order one or two at a time. You get a discount if you order ten or more of each type of paint, so I did that- I ordered the smallest size jar in lots of colors so I can experiment and see what I like and use the most of. The next time I order, I can do it in larger sizes, and get what I really use.

I also needed undyed, uncut silk cocoons, so ordered some of those here. I love this company, because they ALWAYS offer free shipping! Works for me.

Next, I put in an order at Joggles. If you have never visited this site, you are in for a treat. So many art supplies, so little time. I ordered a lot of wool felt beads in many colors. I have been wanting these for so long, and I can't wait to use them! This was probably the most frivolous purchase I made today, but what the heck? An artist (hey, that's me!) needs materials to work with, to inspire them. And although it seemed like I spent a lot, I thought about how much this same amount of supplies would have cost me if I had gone out and bought them locally, and I realized I really saved darn near $50. by comparison shopping on the internet. Maybe shopping isn't so bad after all.

I also bought Biology tests, but I will not post a link to those, lol.
TTFN,
LB

Two more after photos

This is now how the pantry area looks. The brown cupboards hold all my canned goods. The chair and table were just there for photo taking, and can go out into the room now. I still need to sort some of the stuff in those tubs on the left there, but most of them are empty. Yay! I made the Boy mop the floor and clean up the litter mess, too. This is my painting table, near the back door. Look how neat it is! This is the only table that has stuff under it, and it is all organized neatly. Yarns and fibers, angelina fibers, ribbons, etc. in the plastic drawers, and all my painting supplies neatly in the wire shelves. I love those wire shelves and want more of them. When I am painting, I can just pull out the bucket of brushes, and the box of paints specific to my need, and go for it.
Okay, now I am done showing you my after photos, and can get on with the creating!
LB

new WIP- Fabric Paper

This Work-In-Progress is one of the October Challenges from the Fibre and Stitch online magazine, issue #1. This is the first step in making fabric paper. This consists of a crumpled sheet of tissue paper laid out on top of muslin. I soaked them both with a PVA (glue)/water mixture, and then sprinkled my brand-spanking new Dye-Na-Flow paints on them. I watered the paints down some, and think I would like them better full-strength next time. I used a brush to blend the colors all together. Notice the crinkly texture that the srinkled tissue paper gave the fabric. I know it doesn't look too spectacular yet, but it isn't finished. Now I will add some more detail to it- a little gesso, some stamps, maybe a bit more texture with some bubble wrap, etc. That will give it lots of texture. This will be a background fabric, in a paper quilt, and I will probably use it for postcards as well. And Pammie, these photos DO look better when you click on them!

Here is the blue-green one. Reminds me a bit of a Monet's garden scene.
Close up. I do think this one would have really stood out more with full-strength paint.
The purpley-pink-orange one. Note- too many colors make it look muddy.
Close up. Reminds me of a rainy day- a little dark, but not too dreary.
Look for more photos of this fabric paper next week- and hopefully they will be more interesting! I really like this technique and am looking forward to doing more of this.
LB

Studio After Deep Cleaning

From the back door again- sorry about the lighting- it was bright and I couldn't get it right. Notice the clear table surfaces, the lack of crap on the floor, and the empty space under the tables.Hey look! You can see (and use) the stove! And there are no big piles of junk next to it anymore! Look at that freshly vacuumed carpet!
Neat and clean table tops- ready to get messy with new projects! And everything that was piled here and there is put away and neatly stored.
Here is my paper cupboard. The plastic drawers and baskets on top are all full of collage materials- mostly cards, paper napkins, and specialty papers. In the bottom of the cupboard are kid-oriented craft supplies- perler beads, stuff to make flower fairies, felt, etc. The small drawers next to the paper cupboard hold more collage materials- chipboard shapes, skeleton leaves, paper flowers, etc. I love these little drawers- they are easy to access and keep these supplies (relatively) neat.
These are the shelves on the stairwell wall. They are tucked behind my design wall- two 4' X 8' panels covered in cotton batting and on casters so they move like closet doors. I can have both panels open, or one or the other only. I can move them to access all the shelves, or close them. I love this feature of the room. I really use the whole design wall. Notice how neat the shelves are- from top to bottom we have everything from silk rods and cocoons, to buttons and beads, to every issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors and Quilting arts, as well as other art technique books. I also have bottles of water (no sink in the studio yet) and wipes for easy cleanup, and cd's to listen to.
I think you can get an idea of how much better it looks, but I think I still have more pics. Do you want to see more?
LB

Studio Before Deep Cleaning

Okay, Dy convinced me that my faithful readers would still love me if I posted before cleaning pictures of my horrible basement. I will test the waters with before photos of my studio. I have one corner of the unfinished basement, that as most of you know, the Dude finished and presented me with this last Christmas. I have filled almost every inch of this space to the brim with art supplies. I have some art that I love, but I haven't put that up yet. Pamela, you can enlarge these pics, but it will embarrass me to no end, so just don't tell me that you did, ok?

First off, before I could do much of anything else, I had to deal with the piles of stuff. There were piles everywhere, 3 to 4 feet wide, and 3 to 4 feet high, of stuff that needed to be thrown away, or put away. This is what my fabric cutting/sewing/ironing table looked like. No room to do any of those things- and more piles.
This table came in very handy this summer, and fit right over the stove, giving me more usable space, but as we are heating our home with the stove this winter, I needed to ditch the table. You can see the chimney in the center, and the basement door to the left. The chimney is the "wall" of my studio, and where it ends. Back in the left corner behind the basement door is where the laundryroom is going to be, hopefully soon.
This photo is taken from the basement door area. You can see my messy tables, and my fabric wall. The wood cupboards on the left and in the middle hold all my paper/craft supplies.
Lookie here- more junk piles! And a filthy floor, and a view into the messy pantry area under the stairwell. On the right of the photo is the paper cabinet you saw in the last photo. It was so messy in the pantry area- this is where the litter boxes are, and there were so many boxes and piles of junk, you couldn't even turn around in there. Really yucky and a waste of space.
Notice how there are just boxes and piles everywhere. Not very efficient use of space at all. Check out the next post to see what it looks like now.
LB

Tidbit: Studio is cleaner than ever!

I got the studio cleaned up! It took all day, but it is very, very clean! I took some before and after shots, will try to get them up tomorrow- right now I have a burger cooking, and some fresh corn on the cob waiting for me- dinner at 8:30.
TTFN,
LB

Tidbit: new project, WIP, and cleanup

Hi. I see it has been awhile since I have posted again. I seem to really be struggling with this! I feel like someone just learning to juggle, but I have been handed 7 balls instead of two, and can't seem to keep them all in the air.

I have a friend coming over tomorrow to see the studio and to look at some of my work. She has a business selling fine art and gifts and knows of a show I could have some art in that happens in February. She hasn't seen the studio yet, and wants to see where I work, and what sorts of things I work with in case she can help with anything.

I started a new project in the studio, too. I am hoping to take pics today. It is another challenge from the first issue of Fibre and Stitch. So there is paper, and fabric, and paint everywhere.

So I need to get the studio cleaned today- a deep vacuuming with the shop vac (to get the stoopid cat litter out of the grooves in the stoopid carpet), dusting, and decluttering. Need to get rid of the piles of boxes, and I need to move the table that I had standing over the wood-burning stove, so we can start using it soon.

I also need to mail my charms for September's swap, help the Dude pay bills, get flea treatment for the cats, do laundry and dishes, change the linens on the bed, and figure out what is for supper. Not to mention that the tomatoes need to be pulled, the potatoes dug up and stored, and the punkins picked.

Too many balls, to few juggling skills. Think good thoughts for me.
Ta Ta For Now,
LB

Two heads better than one?

You know how much I love turtles, but this is just two much!
TTFN,
LB

September trade: autumn charms

Hello friends. As I told you last month, part of my vow to be an artist instead of wishing to be one, was to partake in a trade and/or challenge each month. Here are the results of September's trade. I really enjoyed making these- it took me back to my sculpting days. I made most of these while talking to Dy, Amy, or the Dude on the phone- they were easy and enjoyable to create. They consist of silk coccons and silk rods (go here to see photos of both), painted with Lumiere here and there, and embellished with silk wool. You probably won't want to click on these- when they are big, they are just fuzzy blobs.This is my sunflower. 2 silk cocoons, which I cut into to form the petals, nestled in part of a silk rod, with a button to hold the layers together. This one has the metalic Lumiere on the petals.
This acorn was the first one I came up with. A cocoon, with a bead attached at the closed end, and part of a brown rod glued on the open end, with some embroidery floss wrapped around to make the stem.
This one is a tassel. Some lace glued onto the cocoon, silk fibers, some with leaf bead, glued inside the cocoon.
Punkins! A bit of curly brown silk rod to make the stem, and silk wool stuffed into the open end of orange cocoons. Couldn't have been simpler!
Hope you liked them.
LB

WIP finished (sorta) L & L challenge

I last wrote about this challenge here. You can see how different the pieces look finished.
What I meant by sorta in the title of this post, is that I am done making the "fabric", but I haven't done anything with them yet. I have a plan, just need to execute it. As usual, you can click to enlarge.
So again, this is lutradur, an interesting fibrous "fabric", with lace and cheesecloth applied with many layers of acrylic paints, the last few layers being Lumiere, which I just adore for their iridescence. That's it for this post.
Ta ta for now,
LB

Tidbits: Toddler love and a link or three.

For Tami, here is a better shot of the mural. I haven't worked on it in several months, and I really should- I find that even though I have very little experience painting, it is very freeing, and makes me happy. I need to do more of it, how else will I get better?

Also, if you haven't met Lemondrop yet, you may want to head over and check her out. Tami is her creator, and the kids and I love to see new bits of Lemondrop's story every week. If you have littles, they will love the illustrations. My tweens are hooked!

I took a 2 hour nap yesterday, so was awake till about 2 this morning. It's all the Birthday Girl's fault, really. Miz Booshay posted links to the current Dancing with the Stars show, and I went over to YouTube to check them out. 2 hours later, and I had watched a LOT of ballroom dances featuring Mario Lopez. I can see why you folks with tv reception and cable could get sucked into this show. Good thing we don't do tv- probably a good thing Netflix doesn't have DWTS.

I had the most wonderful time with my borrowed toddler today. While his mama, TBPTOTP (The Best Piano Teacher on the Planet) and Piano Girl worked for 3+ hours downstairs, we did puzzles, and played trains, and read, and read, and read some more. We played our special games, the "I like/do you like" game, the "woof/meow/oink" game, and sang lots of nursery rhymes. Once a preschool teacher, always a preschool teacher. He calls me nanny (my 3rd person name for myself) now, and is just so sweet. And if all that wasn't enough, get this- every week, I sing him lullabies and rock him to sleep, then lay him down for his nap. I know he is way old for this, and I am the only person who puts him down for nigh-nights like this, but hey- he will grow up soon enough, and his mama lets me spoil and enjoy him this way. Anyway, I always say, "Goodnight, Abe. I love you. See you next week." as I lay him down, whether he is asleep or not. Today, he was really tired, but fidgety, so after about 20 songs,I lay him down awake, and said my usual. He snuggled down into his crib, and said, "I love you too.". Now if that just wasn't enough to keep me glowing all the rest of the day, I don't know what else would.

Edited to add this pic of Abe. It isn't the best, but he moves constantly- I took over 20 photos of him yesterday, and this is the only one that even sorta came out- but it is cute- notice his Thomas cap, and James the red engine- classic Abe accoutrements.

I have more I could update you on, but we are headed out the door to pick the Papa Dude up from the airport. I took tons of photos at the fair, and have some art to upload too, will try to be better at posting in the next couple of days- been fighting some bug, and actually sleeping!
TTFN,
LB

Where is LB?

I am here, I just have been spending time doing things that don't involve a computer! First off, I have met another man, and he and I have been spending waaaayyy to o much time together recently. Have to say, the Dude doesn't seem to mind. I have been engaged in a thorough deep cleaning of this old farmhouse, from top to bottom and stem to stern. It is taking up much of my time and energy, and doesn't show any signs of being over any time soon, but I am actually sorta-kinds enjoying it . At least I like the way a room looks and smells when I am done, and I don't seem to be reacting to the chemicals in the cleaner this time. And secondly, I have been spending lots of time teaching and supervising lessons. It is going good so far, but is time-consuming and challenging. A lot of the time, it looks like this, only imagine a kid sitting there, staring out the window, or getting up every two minutes to go downstairs to sharpen the lead that you would swear they keep breaking on purpose, etc.

One of the reasons cleaning and schooling can be draining to me is that I would really rather be here. I have been in the studio in little fits and starts- putting on a paint of coat here and there between lessons and laundry loads. My L & L challenge is coming along, I haven't taken photos of it lately, but my pieces have many layers of paint, and are just about done. I am now at the point where I am ready to make some things with it. I have a few ideas but will show them to you later.

It seems every time I get a few loyal readers coming to the blog, I stop blogging. I apologize for that way of being. I tell the story that I am too busy to do it, with everything else I have going, but the truth is, sometimes I feel like it, and sometimes I don't. I do hope that you continue to check in now and again, as I will be making a supreme effort to do this regularly. Thanks to those who always comment- that means a great deal and keeps me blogging.
Hugs. TTFN,
LB

Sunset Walkies, part 2

Okay, so I told you we were walking out behind Boeing. There are several buildings, and hangars. Here is one. As usual, you can click to make it bigger.Over to the left, you can see an airplane. It started from over here, and traveled across our line of vision. I don't know just what about this was so fascinating, but I shot tons of photos of it, and had a really good time. Maybe it was the cool color of the jet before it got it's final paint coat.
Here it is in a close-up. Isn't it pretty? For a plane, that is.
It was pulled by this tiny vehicle. What a contrast!
There it goes, over to the main airport. What fun!
That's it! Other than the plane, I took tons of photos of berries. There were berries everywhere along the walking path- all different colors and sizes.
Talk soon,
LB

Sunset Walkies, part 1

A couple of weeks ago (I know, I know, I am a terribly inconsistent blogger, sigh.) , the Fine Young Man was off doing something, and it was just the three of us. We went for an evening stroll along the river, down behind the Renton Airport. The sun set while we were out, and it was enjoyable all the way around. Lots of inspiration for future art, too.

Here is Piano Girl. Isn't she growing up? Gramma and I took her to Value Village yesterday and we shopped in the women's sections- sizes 5 and 7 fit her! Here is a washed out shot of the Dude and myself. We look a bit off, as it was about the 7th shot Girly took- she has a really shaky hand with my camera, lol.
A blue heron. I have a lot of shots of this- I can see a painting or little quiltlet composed from this.
Here is my favorite shot of the moon I took as we were heading to the car.
This is what Dude and the Girl were doing while I was taking the photos I will show you in the next post. Stay tuned.

UFO: Lutradour and lace challenge part 2

This one was so pretty I didn't even add lace to it. It has gold and copper highlights that aren't showing up well.This one is small. It is just the first layer of paint.

Here is the second layer on this piece.

I'll post more when I can , I gotta get the kids to the football game. I am hoping to spend some time on this project this weekend.
LB

UFO: Lutradour and lace challenge part 1

This is what I am working on currently. I am very short on time, so will elaborate later. For now, you can just look. For others in the challenge: I am not stitching things down, but using gesso in the first layer. I want to see how that works.

Work space:Layer one:

Layer two. It is a more golden color in reality.

Layer one of a different piece. This is a long piece. the left side:

The right side.

light bulb moment

Good morning invisible friends! I have figured something out (again)! To stay out of the dark places (I refuse to use the "D" word!), the two things that seem to help me most are creating every day, and eating right. If I can just get to the place where both of these are a priority, life will be so much more fun and full of light!

I am grabbing my camera and heading down to the studio depths. I was creating till 1 am, and want to do more. The kids can get their own brekky, the Girl is headed to her piano for a couple of hours, and the Boy is taking the bus to his classes, so I can go get covered with paint and it won't matter- I don't have to be anywhere until this evening, when I have to turn into the supportive mom who is helping out at the first football game.

The Fine Young Man looks so cute in his uniform- the nice black pants, the red jacket, and the oatmeal box hat with the feather plume and the chinstrap. I better pack my tissues.

I hope to be back here later with art pictures!
As Pooh says, TTFN,
LB

Tidbit: Thanks, I'm feeling better now.

Wow, you gals are the best invisible friends a person can have. I was feeling so alone yesterday, but you guys were nice enough to let me know you care, and that we all go through places like this. And Bridget, you were right- Mama hugs still work when you are 42.

Today is our busy music day. The Boy will take the bus to his classes, and then home again, as Papa is still out of town and Piano Girl and I are basically at The Best Piano Teacher's house from 9 to 2 today. I will get my toddler fix and a grownup fix too.

So far as art goes, I am creating today no matter what! I am taking my lutradour and lace with me- I am going to try to just hand-tack some pieces down, so that they might be ready to work on tonight.

That's it for now, gotta get us all moving here.
Loving my invisible friends, and realizing I get to create my own happiness.
LB

Tidbit: Breathe in, Breathe out. Survive.

I'm here. I seem to be in another one of my dark places. It is so easy to fall into the overwhelmed story, and then I lock up, and don't get anything accomplished, even fun things. But today, I refuse to use depression as an excuse, so will just focus on where I am going, not where I have been. I will not look at what is not done, but focus on what I will do. Today I move and breathe in the sunshine air. I will drop my son off at school, run errands with my daughter, and pop in to hug my mother. Then I will come home and do the dishes and some laundry, and head to the studio, which is (as always, sigh) in need of a deep cleaning and some organizing. Tonight, we will eat a healthy meal and laugh together. My dude will call me from Boise and I will tell him about my day, and I will smile.

I do have a few posts started with pictures, not as much art content as I would like, but I will try to get those up soon. Thanks for hanging in.
TTFN,
LB