Mid summer update

I made a boo-boo. When I made paste paper on thick cardstock, it was fun. I did a passable job of making some attractive paste paper patterns. When it dries, the combed patterns have heights and valleys, making it even a bit thicker. Then I printed out some verses and pasted them on the back.

When all was said and done, the piece was too think to laminate. Oh, I laminated it all right, but almost right away the laminate peeled off. The paper etc. was too think to have properly sealed and the top layer came off. The plastic is still stuck to the bottom. Oh well, live and learn.

I scooted into town this morning to do a few errands, picked up a very few groceries and tried to get home before the heat hit. Nope. Didn't make it.

I saw the movie Last Holiday with Queen Latifah which was good, if light and slight on the plot, but serviceable for a feel-good movie. I also watched some of  Joyful Noise with Queen Latifah and Dolly Parton but that was a terrible movie. There were a lot of famous people in it (Kris Krostofferson, Jesse L. Martin, Courtney Vance...) so acting was good but the plot was unrealistic and it just was generally unwatchable.

The UK cop show Line of Duty season 3 was out this past March and I binged on the show till the finale. Fortunately UK series only have 6 episodes or I might have just expired from the tension. It isn't a gory show or a bloody show or a sexual show. None of that. It's written in such a way that in genius fashion builds the tension from episode to episode. It really keeps you guessing. I mean, they aren't ashamed to do anything with any character. In one season, early on they threw a major character out a window. One guy who is the worst of the worst corrupt has gotten away with it for two seasons. So it isn't a given that any character you're attached to will or won't make it, or this one or that one might or not be be corrupt ("bent" in UK parlance).

I have also been enjoying the Nextflix presentation of Irish Castles. Not only are the castles gorgeous and the scenery scrumptious but the history they present is done in a seamless but educational way. VERY interesting. I'm trying to hurry up through it because my Netflix is going away in a few days. I canceled it. Though I do occasionally enjoy a documentary, I need to cut expenses and entertainment is the first to go. I really don't use Netflix enough to warrant the monthly bill. I got rid of Hulu a while ago.

We're halfway through summer and it has been a fabulous June so far. One more month and I will be back in the swing at school. August 1. I love summer, and I'm reveling in the 4 more weeks of vacation.

This summer I've been reading theology books as well as novels. I study the Bible, listen to sermons, and write. I am also investigating the world of ePublishing and formatting an eBook. It's not for the fainthearted.

I love that days and days go by and I don't have to talk to anybody or go where it's noisy or get exhausted just by being in public.

Lunch today was salmon salad on a brioche with a thick juicy tomato slice, green salad, dessert of fresh figs with bleu cheese crumbled on. Lemon water. Mmm.

Then, nap.

Some recent pics.

Have a great week everyone.

More collages

Here are a few more collages I've made lately. I made them with paste paper, cardstock and vintage paper. Then I scanned them and manipulated them with Pixlr for post processing.

Flowers under blue sky

 I think I will cut that one above one in half, laminate it and use the bottom for a bookmark.

Chemical changes in our oceans

Busy hectic day; peaceful home. With flowers.

Cold ahead, Thanksgiving ahead, Christmas crafting ahead!

Everyone around here including me, is watching the weather for the coming week with a very wary eye. The high temperature by Tuesday is supposed to be only 35 degrees. The low doesn't usually get that low this early in the season, so people are rightfully worried. Pipes aren't insulated here. There are also lots of animals to keep warm.

I'm looking forward to five more days before the week off for Thanksgiving break. I made some food for the upcoming week's meals-

--Pea soup with potatoes, carrots, onions
--Kale chips
--jalapeno corn muffins
--chopped pineapple (to throw in cottage cheese)

Pea soup is so easy to make, and so good, filling, healthy, and delicious!

I started a Christmas project. I have all these photos I took, some are good, I think. And the free digital software these days is so powerful and versatile, I can manipulate the photos and make lots of things with them. I decided to make bookmarks from my photos, add scripture, print them on quality photo paper at home, and then laminate them at school. (The School charges a reasonable rate for personal use).

Just because the project is digital, doesn't mean it's easily accomplished. It takes time to select just the right photo, add a border that complements the photo, and to find a scripture to match. Deciding on the font and placement also takes skill, just ask any graphic designer. If the end result looks good, that seems like no big deal, but it is a big deal, because the designer did a perfect job that took much time. If the font is too big or too small, too scripted and hard to read, or off center, the project will look clumsy and amateur.

I had a hard time at first with cropping the size of the bookmark just right. Two inches by 7 inches seems to be a good, proportional size for a bookmark. Two of them I've finished will need to be redone because they are too wide. I saw this when I printed out a draft copy. But here are the results of the first pass.

In real life the nail bookmark is easier to read. But you can see the issues. Choosing a photo that isn't too busy is the key. Also being able to see a large photo and crop the parts that will translate well to a 2X7 inch strip, and still tell a story is also key.

In writing when one edits, it's all about what you leave out, and the same is true of any other creative art project. It's all about what you leave out. I'm excited to use the photos I've been taking for these many decades.

I'll paste a logo on the back, here it is

Have a good week ahead, try to stay warm!

I have decided...

...that for the rest of the day I am going to MAKE STUFF. Here is an example of previous stuff I made:

Watercolor

Altered book

Collage

Altered photography

I  don't know what will emerge from this burst of creative impulse today, but if anything is, I better quit blogging about wanting to make something and actually go make something.
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I am SO not a girl

In  decorating, design and in crafts, my tastes run toward the masculine. My idea of a perfect room is the Victorian Men's Club reading room, with floor-to-ceiling bookcases and a brass ladder on a rail. Leather club chairs with rivets on the edge. Plush Persian carpets muting the sounds, and wood paneling surrounding all. Marble topped tables with isolated lighting. Dark, with lots of heavy materials and cozy in a masculine sort of way.

My art tends to the masculine subjects too. I try once in a while to do a lighthearted ladies piece with fringes and pastels, and sewing and light fabric. No go. It just isn't me. The fru fru is pretty, but I am not fru-fru-ish. Karen has a beautiful blog with lots of curlicues, and her stuff is great. But it's not me. And I wonder why, when most women on the planet love the frills, the cute, the charming, and the feminine. Me, I like this:

A few years ago I splurged and spent $30 on an ebay box of collage "stuff" with over 500 items inside. It is great stuff, but much of it is tailored for ladies, having sepia Victorian greeting cards and lace and butterflies. Now, I like butterflies. This panel was one of the over 500 items included in the ebay score. It is a paper panel of German-produced vintage butterflies

 Here are dried butterfly wings from a real butterfly. They were laying on the ground, no butterfly body to be seen. I picked them up and dried them. I plan to use them. Someday. When I get in touch with my feminine side.

I never know how to deliberately compose a more feminine piece. Left to my own devices, what always comes out is less lady and more testosterone-ish. So for a while I tried to include butterflies in more light-hearted collages and book illustration pages. This one is a clip of a larger piece titled "Sweet soap for ladies." I like handmade soap a lot too. I thought the combo of butterflies and lavender soap would do the trick. But I wasn't satisfied with the finished piece and didn't connect with it.

Below is another deliberate attempt to create something with brighter colors and would represent my feminine side. I thought, well, flowers are pretty. It's called Amaryllis. The butterflies are a smaller excerpt in the lower left corner of the larger piece, about to alight on some leaves.

Another crop. The overall piece used purple acrylic paste paper as the backdrop and pasted on top were figures of women representing some favorite women I admire. In between the dividing line a flight of butterflies takes off in formation. Like the Blue Angels do. Uh-oh. A bit of testosterone creeping in there.

This was the last page of a booklet I wrote and illustrated. The butterfly is separating from the evil cord that bound it to hell, and it is flying high, and away to a brighter future. Well, that's sorta happy but the heavy-duty tinge is creeping in for sure...

This aggravated angel with butterfly wings for wings is sitting atop a scorched tree, sad that the demons are still fighting each other, amid the sulfurous scents swirling up from their hellish abode. Aw, nuts. I give up. Butterflies are pretty but I guess I'll leave the fru-fru charm to other women who are so much better at it. I'll pull up my club chair and switch on the brass banker's lamp and settle in for a bit of reading in my wood-paneled apartment. Cheerio!

Hunting, Finding, Creating, Enjoying!

You can make a book out of anything! The Lubec Historical Society annual 4th of July Yard Sale was always great for an eclectic find or two. They always have great stuff at that yard sale, and the arrangement of the items adds to its charm. The workers put out boxes of stuff on the lawn. No attractive display designs, not too many tables, though there are a few. Just boxes put out right on the grass. Yay! You hunt, you browse, you never know what you will find. That year among other items, I found these 60s placemats. What struck me about them is that the fabric was thick. Towels, blankets, placemats these days are not plush. They are thin. These, though were thick as anything and felt pretty good to the touch.

The other thing that struck me was the daisy. When I was 8, in 1968, I begged my mother to allow me to pick out my own wallpaper for my bedroom. We lived in a small, 100-year-old Cape Cod style home and my bedroom was upstairs, under the eaves. The roofline came down to within 3 feet of the floor. Being a kid that is exactly where I put my bed. It felt like a fort. The wallpaper my mother reluctantly allowed me to choose was garish yellow 60's daisies. Flower power, you know? The wallpaper color also included orange. Lots of it. It was bright. The daisies were huge, their petals extending out inches and inches from the nucleus. As I drifted off to sleep. I'd reach up my hand and trace their outlines. The ceiling being so close, and the daisies so bright and cheery, I fell asleep a happy girl. This daisy on the placemat is very similar, if not as blindingly bright.

Here, the front cover is partially turned so you can see the inside cover page.

The binding was a simple one-signature pamphlet stitch.

Here is a closeup of the pamphlet stitch

I had wonderful 8 1/2 by 11 legal sized paper, which worked perfectly for a one-signature book.
A pamphlet stitch is a simple, single thread so you cannot make too heavy of a signature (bundle or set of pages) or the thread will not hold the whole book together! It is also wise to match the amount of paper and each pages's weight to the cover material. Once, I made a handmade book using cardstock pages and tissue paper cover. Duh.

And, as I was exposing the center spine inside page with the tied signature thread (which I deliberately left long) and readying the camera for the photo, my cat who has THREAD RADAR at 4000 paces clued in. STRIIIINNNNGGGG! AAARGH! ATTACK! sigh

Happy book making! You can make a book out of anything. Even a placemat!