Blizzards and other stuff :)

The weather outside has been truly frightful here in the midwest. It snowed so hard, that you couldn't see across the road most of the day. These pictures actulaly seem clearer than what I saw out the door. So I guess we will have a white Christmas after all this year :) Unless of course it is 50 out the rest of the week.

On the warmer side, you can stay inside and Make Something with a little help from Lisa Volrath's sight. http://countdown.tentwostudios.com/

Gearing up

I just got a couple of new stamps from Hot Potatoes for my birthday and had to play for awhile. This is the best result. A giant 12x12 snowflake background. I used Kaleidocolor Blue Breeze for my ink. I have a serious thing for mandalas and medallions. I have a huge drawer of unmounted stamps marked medallions.
On the home front, I have had to close up the cat door due to being invaded by possums. I woke up last week to a strange noise. I turned on the lights because I figured the cats brought in a live one to play with. Not my favorite way to wake up, but I have gotten good at search and rescue. I noted strange droppings on the floor and some tinkle too. Too small for a cat and too large for the usual suspects. I walk into the kitchen to get a pile of paper towels and there is a possum eating the cat food. The kitties are on the table watching. Great job guys. It takes off and hides behind the wash machine. Great! I cleaned up the mess and went back to bed figuring it would make its way back out threw the cat door. When I woke up in the morning I shined the flashlight behind the wash machine only to see a furry bum. Dang! Off to work. I get home, it is still there snoozing. What to do. I looked at some possum sites on line and noted that they can be apprehended by the tail without harm. Now all I have to do is get him to come out. Crunch, crunch. That didn't sound like a cat eating. I walked over to the cat dish and there he was. Zoom he was off in another direction. Hiding behind the futon in the living room. We have hard wood floors so furniture slides quite easily. I run into my room and get my metal working gloves on. They have nice rubber on the palms. Off to catch and release. I slide out the futon and we catch each others eyes. He doesn't move as thought being still might make him invisible. His tail is on my side. Yes! I snag the tail and lift him up. Not even a struggle. His tiny paws are sticking straight out, but he doesn't even flinch. I opened the door and set him down. Zoom, he was gone. The cat door has been locked ever since, but since I put food out for my kitty that prefers to be outside, I see that possum making nightly visits. Apparently cats and possums get along pretty well. A neighbors cat stopped by for a snack and was seen eating side by side with the possum. I guess the rule is if it is as big as you are and doesn't smell like another cat, leave it be. All others will be caught and tortured.

***What Your Latte Says About You***
You are very decadent in all aspects of your life. You never scale back, and you always live large.
You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious.
Intense and energetic, you aren't completely happy unless you are bouncing off the walls.
You're addicted to caffeine. There's no denying it.
You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree.
You are inventive and creative, but you are never weird.
What Does Your Latte Say About You?http://www.blogthings.com/whatdoesyourlattesayaboutyouquiz/

***You Are a Blue Crayon***
Your world is colored in calm, understated, deep colors.You are a loyal person, and the truest friend anyone could hope to find.On the inside, you tend to be emotional and even a bit moody.However, you know that people depend on you. So you put on a strong front.
Your color wheel opposite is orange. Orange people may be opinionated, but you feel they lack the depth to truly understand what they're saying.
What Color Crayon Are You?http://www.blogthings.com/whatcolorcrayonareyouquiz/

clean up!

Well I decided to wash out the trash cans out in the yard. Such fun I spotted the ember pot by the fire pit and decided to clean it up and take it back in to put by the fireplace. I flipped it over and there was a small black widdow spider! I didn'r even know they had those in Kansas. I asked my roomate if she had ever seen one and showed it to her. She grew up in this house and she had never seen one. I took it back out and smooshed it and then kicked myself for not getting a picture of her. She was a young girl. I'm sure her family has to be around here some where. I'll definitely have to keep my eyes open when I am packing the garadge up. Keeping a lookout for brown recluses is bad enough. At least black widdows are easier to see.

Time to rest up

Well, our huge moving sale is finaly over and it is time to crash! Well, I guess I don't get to rest much since I have to clean up the house so we can show it. Ack!

I added Mikas photo and a Mikascope that I made from it ;) Enjoy.

Mika - Love today - Official Video

Enjoy :)

Wow! It's been awhyle since I posted!

Well I was playing with Dumper yesterday. This is Isabella :) I also, thanks to Crafty Chica's blog, found a new artist, musician to LOVE! He is so talented. I haven't Listened to this much music in a long time. His name is Mika. You can hear some of his music on You Tube. And it certainly doesn't hurt that he is adorable either....I wonder how he feels about older women! LOL

Trashion pre trunk show sale!!!

From July 15-july 27th save 15% in my shop and in other participating shops. Most of the participants are using this avatar in place of their usual one.

Journal page dedicated to Frida Kahlo

http://www.fridakahlofans.com/

The link is for anyone interested in learning more about Frida Kahlo. I am pretty pleased with the way my drawing came out although I had to scrub out her mustach a bit. The marker I was using wasn't fine enough. Well, it's not a great drawing but considering I haven't done much drawing in years, it is decent. At the top is a picture of Frida transfered onto metal mesh and the one on the bottom is transfered onto a piece of metal tin. I stamped leaves all over the background and then added a light green glaze over the top to give it the jungley background she used in many of her paintings.

The sayings are some of my favorite Frida quotes:

I drank to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

I hope the leaving is joyful and I hope never to return.

I am not sick, I am broken, but I am happy as long as I can paint.

Some pictures I took this morning of the flowers in our fromt yard.

The pompas grass is doing well!

The fire pit in the back yard.By our front porch are some tiger lillys.The little garden area by the mail box is finally looking decent this year.

My interview is on the Trashion blog!!!

http://etsytrashion.blogspot.com/2007/07/trashion-team-spotlight-interview.html
Go check it out! I am very excited about it!

Day of the dead

This one is calle the Ghost Ship. After I stamped the ship in permanent ink I wiped some away to give it a ghostly appearance. I had a ghost punch, and I thought that would reiterate what I was trying to show in this piece.
I hung charms on this one to reflect the use of milagros.

I have been having a blast making these cards for After Midnight Art Stamps. This one uses an encaustic background of melted wax.

Puttin on the Ritz

Well as soon as I added a top hat to this skelly I kept hearing a song in my head, but what was it. It took forever for my little brain to remember. I used my Wizzard to make the lettering. This is the latest in my samples for After Midnight Art Stamps.

Twofer

I made these 2 very diferent cards using the same background stamp and came up with 2 very different looks. I can't decide if I like one better than the other. They are samples for After Midnight Art Stamps.

Coming Unraveled

I found this poor moth eaten pillowcase in my roomates trash and just had to save it. At least I think it is moth eaten. I love the way the white parts have disintegrated and the black is left. I am sure this would be great in some artwork somewhere.

Around town

A cool building that I found on a photo treck around town last summer.

Towering inferno

It is getting hot out there! So here is a cool piece I have in my shop that has lots of yummy layers of acrylic paints and art stamps. Cool!

Back to work

I have been feeling a bit better this week and have been able to get a few things done. The first pictures are of a shrine I created for After Midnight Art Stamps for their sample board. It is light weight. Made from a box that a stamp set came in, covered with hand made paper and metal repose'.
This is an expariment I did with glue and powdered mica on orange glossy card stock. It was inspired by my Yahoo group - Janes Lab. Yummy texture and brilliant shine.

Another blast from the past

My arm continues to cause me much grief and pain, so here is another oldie but goodie.

Welcome to the jungle!

I thought I would show off a couple of my favorite cards today :) They aren't new but I have not been real productive this week due to my arm being messed up. Still, I thought someone might enjoy them.

New ideas and products

I was thinking one night about what I could come up with that is new and fresh to sell in my store. I have been saving tins of all kinds to use in artwork of various kinds. Some of them I just can't bare to cut up though. I came up with the secret stash necklace and wristlet. They kind of remind me of middle eastern prayer boxes or poison rings. I didn't want to alter them too much. I wanted them to show what they are, kind of like the license plate purses, and yes I do have a stash of lisense plates just waiting for me to get inspired. I have a ton of cigar boxes to use for purses too, but haven't had the heart to change them from the beautiful items that they are, and so I store my supplies in them. I guess it would work better if I got a bunch of same ol average ones, but I always look for ones that are unique. It's all good :)

Craziness

Laundry can be a whole lot of fun when you get kids involved. LOL Nothing is sacred around here.

More mushrooms

Fungi

I took a stroll around the yard and spotted some mushrooms and decided to take some pictures. I found several diferent kinds in various areas of the yard. I don't know what they are but they are interesting to look at.