Cards again!

More cards made last night (except the kitty... he should have gone up with the stuff from yesterday). I thought Michelle would like him...he's red and black and somewhat goth. Some of these utilize my new clear stamps that I got at Archiver's the other day. They are from a company called Fancy Pants Designs (I'd never heard of them before). There is an explosion of clear stamps out now by a number of companies that are new or sound new... not the traditional rubber stamp companies I've heard of, though some of those are going that route now, as well. I think the scrappers are diversifying outwards and embracing the stampers... in the never ending quest for more sales! Now that most of the stamp stores, at least in my neck of the woods, are gone, that is. Again a couple of the above examples (the faces) were an attempt at "with one stamp" that is done in Take Ten, where you do several different looking cards using the same stamp. I like the challenge of that and I push myself more to try different color schemes to get different looks. I'm thinking of submitting some work again to be published, which I haven't done in ages. I used to do that all the time and it is so exciting to get in magazines, but it don't happen if I don't make stuff and send it out there.

Finally some new cards!

Finally got some work done in the newly and somewhat cleaner dining room craft space. The flowers at top are an attempt at the one stamp, several ideas theme that they do in Take Ten magazine. The others are just some random ideas that came to me as inspiration struck. Hopefully this is the start of a creative "roll." (I have one I forgot to bring to scan I will add tomorrow hopefully).

Cleaning the craft room

Inspired by recent magazines I've been looking through, and wanting to get back to working on some art... I starting cleaning out the craft room (aka the dining room). It has been a horrendous mess for quite some time and every time I do more work it just gets worse and worse. Words can't begin to describe how really and truly bad it has gotten. After a couple of hours this morning I was so pooped out I sat on the couch and dozed for a couple of hours. I was as wiped out as I've been in a long time. I finally decided I HAD to get back up and move around and since I had coupons I wanted to use at Archivers and Barnes & Noble that are about to expire I got up and went out.

I got some cool stuff at Archivers and didn't spend too much (that store is a hard one to restrain myself in). And I got a couple good books at B & N... one Dover book on Victorian art that comes with a CD of the images (I'm getting attracted to the flourishes and swirls that seem to be all the rage now) and a book on selling your art that I'm hoping might inspire me to move forward with making some money off something I can make. And I got the newest Somerset Studio too. A late lunch/early dinner at Taco Bell... hey, it's cheap!

So I got more done when I got home.... lots more, nearly done, or at least done enough to start some work but maybe tomorrow, I'm pretty pooped out again. It's a good feeling to get that accomplished. I also realize how many unmounted stamps I have that I've never used! It's like winning a stamp lottery or something.... stuff I forgot that I even bought! I will work on organizing those soon, too. I can get sheets at the Container Store with my discount so that won't be a big deal. Maybe I'll get some tomorrow at work.

Well off to sit for a bit!

These give new meaning to altered books!

Ok, go to this site and take a look-see....
http://www.aronpacker.com/dettmer/dettmer.html#
this guy does really awesome stuff. I saw his work in a magazine called Fine Books and Collections someone at work had.
Just thought I'd share (since I haven' t had any of my own work recently to post).

I was tagged (a while back)...

Ok, I was tagged quite some time ago (months) and I wrote out what I was going to say in a journal but never got around to putting it up on the blog...true confession time! So here is my response after long last...

1. 4 jobs I've had:
--shelving library books
--hanging paintings at the county fair
--selling stuff and planning spaces for people at the Container Store
--graphic designer

2. 4 movies I would watch over and over again
--The Lion in Winter (Katherine Hepburn, Peter O'Toole and a very young Timothy Dalton!)
a very pithy and witty movie with the best dialog EVER!
--Foul Play (Goldie Hawn & Chevy Chase) just the funniest thing ever
--My House in Umbria (lovely character study)
--Lady Hawk (Matthew Broderick and Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfifer) love Matthew's thief character Philipe, he's great!

3. 4 places I've lived:
--a yellow cape cod at 19 Maple St. (suburb of Dayton, OH)
--a dorm at Univ. of Cincinnati
--372 S. Ashburton Rd. two story brick town house with ivy and green door/trim (Columbus)
--1914 brick 3 story in a historic district (Columbus)

4. 4 people who email daily:
I don't have anyone who emails THAT often
Oh, wait, maybe the spammers!

5. 4 favorite things to eat:
--macaroni and cheese (with REAL cheese not the melty goopy kind)
--fillet mignon (with A-1 steak sauce) especially from the Top restaurant
--manicotti in alfredo sauce
--strawberries (or strawberry Hågen-Dåz ice cream)

6. 4 places I'd rather be:
--with my friends or a friend
--in England/Scotland (especially a castle!)
--creating art
--at the bookstore
(getting a massage ranks right up there, too)

7. 4 things I look forward to this year:
--spending time with friends
--making new friends
--making some cool art
--learning some new things

4 people I will tag....
haven't decided yet...
Sharon, Kate.... and two others!

that was kind of fun, and I didn't even change what I put (though I elaborated a little more) It's easier to make a list sometimes than to write and it's fun to think through the possible answers.

Piano Man

Awesome, awesome, awesome!!! I got to see Billy Joel in concert one more time last night... another amazing concert (he's always awesome). It was as if he'd asked me to make a list of all my favorites and he played them... several of them not the top chart-busting songs even... it was amazing. He's such a great artist, it goes well beyond performer... his songwriting is amazing and then, well there's the piano playing which is just astounding. For anyone who might be interested, I'll list the songs he did in order (I'm gonna make a playlist for my ipod).
Angry Young Man
Ode to Joy (my favorite hymn... he snuck a little bit of Beethoven in, he's so cute)
My Life
Don't Go Changing
Summer of Highland Falls
The Entertainer
Zanzibar
New York State of Mind
Allentown
Don't Ask Me Why
She's Always a Woman
Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)
Innocent Man
Keeping the Faith
River of Dreams
Hang on Sloopy (slipped in between... for us Ohioans)
Matter of Trust
We Didn't Start the Fire
Still Rock n Roll to Me
You May Be Right
Scenes From an Italian Restaurant
Only the Good Die Young
Piano Man

I get goose bumps when he does Piano Man and they stop playing and the whole stadium sings the chorus on its own.... he always does that. It was just an amazing concert. Who knows how many more times he will tour, every time he says it will be the last time, and I'm sure he thinks it will be... I can't blame him, it must be grueling to put on shows like that and travel so much. But I am grateful each time that I get to experience him in person. I don't get this way about much of anybody else.
(I'm wearing my t-shirt today, too!)

Bad Hair day in the Stone Age

I guess even caveladies had bad hair days
(probably quite a few since Clairol had not
been invented yet). Looks like the cavekids
were getting to her. This Iniuit cave drawing
just kind of cracked me up so I thought I'd
share it here. The eyes just kill me!

Coffee shop evening

I stopped at Cup O' Joe and had a smoothie
after work on Sunday evening and read my
book. It was just too nice to go home and sit
inside. I love when the days start to get nice...
we appreciate it so much right at first when it's
been cold and crummy for so long. I was there
for a few hours. I also took a shot inside of the
tiles around the fireplace because I liked the
colors so much.

Goodies! Goodies! They arrived!

I'm so excited... my goodies came from last month's crusade... it WAS like my birthday all over again (only better)! Such neat and yummy things (well some literally yummmy and some figuratively).

Cool goth scissors... have to say I never got goth scissors before... definite addition to the journal kit!
Note paper, mini stapler, rubber stamps, pop rocks (I remember those...how fun!), pretty tissues... will have to go towards art projects, the pattern is just too pretty to blow my nose on! and I'm really excited to get a CD with HIM songs... I've been wondering what all the fuss was about...now I know... pretty cool stuff I must say. He's on my computer and ipod now.... I may be joining the ranks of fans (though Billy Joel will always be my number one... sorry Ville). Thanks so much to Michelle for putting together such an awesome package....It was such fun to open... all themed red and black and goth all over!