Memories of Mine to Thine

Tea Party or sTEAm Party?

2013-06-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

I created this piece for the Creative Paperclay® modeling material blog, and I can't decide if I want to take it in a Steampunk direction, or keep going Mad Hatter? What do you think? Hop on over to Creative Paperclay® modeling material's BLOG, RIGHT HERE, see how I made it, and weigh in on the decision!
Disclosure: As a member of Creative Paperclay® modeling material's design team, I receive product at no cost to myself.

Isn't She Lovely

2013-05-29T20:11:00.004-07:00

Meet Lavender. She's my dream goat. I've always hoped that one day, I would be able to have a goat from Pholia Farm. After Ally, the doeling I had planned to keep from Ginger's kidding passed away, I realized that I would be smart to seriously think about taking this chance to invest in a doe that would be beneficial to my herd.

I already have a buck that has Pholia bloodlines, so I contacted Giannaclis about purchasing a doe from her that wasn't closely related to my buck. She had a few options for me. I settled on Lavender. She is in milk, and she's already one of my favorites. I bought her sight unseen, not even knowing what her markings looked like... I think it's interesting that she looks pretty much like I imagine Ally would have looked all grown up.

So now, I've got four does that are unrelated to my bucks. I wasn't able to get Harriet pregnant for about the 4th or 5th try since she was a baby... I've decided that she should be sold as a brushing/pet goat with one of the wethers with the understanding she shouldn't be bred. She's going to be going to a good home.
My next plan, is to breed Mini (from Ginger's kidding last year) to an unrelated buck at my breeder's farm, and cross my fingers for a doeling from that breeding. I'll also have room to keep one of Lavender's doelings when she is ready to breed again, and my breeding options with the two boys will have much more longevity.
Lavender seems to have been born for the spotlight. She is much nicer about having her picture taken than the other girls.

Worth Cheeping Twice. The Artist' Version.

2013-05-23T07:49:00.001-07:00

As an extension of my guest blog post on Seth Apter's The Altered Page... and because I've been feeling nostalgic... and wanted to share an oldie but goodie post. Never Let Someone Else Tell You... Originally posted in November of 2009... Photos added today.

SO MANY artists who are making a living with their art have an attitude about other artists. It's not only artists, but critics, and public. Lines start to be drawn in the sand about WHO can call themselves an artist. There are suddenly RULES about how GOOD art has to be to be allowed to be CALLED art. How many items in your art are things YOU did or did not make. There are so many lines drawn in the sand that it becomes impossible to enjoy the beauty of the beach it is on.
So just what IS art?

Art is the process or product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions. ~Wikipedia

By definition, ART is what you MAKE. It doesn't say anything about whether or not you copied someone to learn a technique.** It doesn't say you can only use things to make it if you also made THEM. It doesn't say that EVERYONE has to agree that it's beautiful or appealing. Art like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. It doesn't MATTER if it's scrapbook papers, or cards, or photography, or yarn making, or sculpting, or gardening. WHATEVER it is, it's simply about the deliberate way that you put something together to MEAN SOMETHING, or to LOOK GOOD.

Fine art is another buzz term that gets thrown around a lot. But what IS fine art?
Fine art describes an art form developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than utility. This type of art is often expressed in the production of art objects^[2] using visual and performing art forms, including painting, sculpture, music, dance, theatre, architecture, photography and printmaking.~Wikipedia
Folk art encompasses art produced from an indigenous culture or by peasants or other laboring tradespeople. In contrast to fine art, folk art is primarily utilitarian and decorative rather than purely aesthetic. Other terms that overlap with folk art are naïve art, Pop art, outsider art, traditional art, tribal art, "self-taught" art and even "working class" art. ~Wikipedia
No matter WHO you are.
No matter WHAT you create.
ART lives inside you.
Even within yourself, what you find frustrating because it didn't come out the way you intended isn't any LESS art. Even in it's definition, art is in the PROCESS.
Let your art SHOW. Don't let someone else tell you what your art can or cannot be. It's not up to them.

Certainly, one hopes that others will like and enjoy their art.
But be cautious in who you allow to have INFLUENCE over you.
Be cautious in how you give and take critiques. In the end, no matter how "worthy" the person giving a critique is, your art is YOURS. THAT is what makes it valuable. It's not about living up to the standards that other people have set for you. Make your art for yourself. When you allow yourself that freedom, the people who need your art will come.
There are people who will criticize, and pick, and pull at what is and is not art. They are not important. THEY do not "get" it. It's time we support each other. There is room in this world for art to live in ALL of us. Some of us will make money at it. Some of us will not. THAT has nothing to do with letting your art SHOW, and allowing your art to LIVE.
**Please note that I am not condoning outright copying of other artist' work and calling it your own. I do believe that it is in the nature of INSPIRATION and art to use another artist's ideas and build on them. If you have questions about copyright, there is an excellent on line resource HERE that explains it in good legal detail.

Feeling Fresh

2013-05-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Over the last Winter, I kind of started to stray from eating fresh and local. It's harder in the Winter. I know this, but in the last month, I have started milking my goats. Yesterday, I made cheese with their milk, and I made Granola. It's funny how smells can transport you back to a different time. The instant I started mixing the dry ingredients of the Granola, I was instantly sitting on the counter with my mom in the kitchen I grew up in. Making granola. This morning, I had granola for breakfast, with strawberries from a Big Lick Farms, and fresh banana.

Later on, I had a salad with vine ripened tomatoes, avacado and some of that cheese I made.

It made me excited about eating fresh, and eating locally. It made me excited for summer, and the time when most of what we eat will have come from our own garden, or the gardens of people we know. It made me feel FRESH.

Amazing Mold Putty and Casting Resin Frame

2013-05-15T10:13:00.000-07:00

I created a new piece of artwork this week!! Now I'll never have to worry about using the 'last' vintage frame on an art piece again! Wanna know how I made it? Hop over to the Amazing Mold Putty's BLOG, RIGHT HERE!

Disclosure: As a member of Amazing Mold Putty's design team, I receive product at no cost to myself.

Tea for One

2013-05-15T06:56:00.001-07:00

The Mad Hatter is finally finished! He took me a while... the boys say I've had him in the works for over a year. I don't think it's been QUITE that long... but it has been a long time.

Hand sculpted with Creative Paperclay, hand painted. He'll be for sale in my etsy shop soon!

I am an ALCHEMIST!!

2013-05-08T07:00:00.000-07:00

HOLY CROW!! I made it!!
I'm one of the three new Alchemists and Gauche Alchemy! Now comes the hard part. Which badge do I choose?

"

Creative Paperclay Poppy Flowers

2013-05-02T21:00:00.000-07:00

I STILL have Spring Fever!! Also? I have been bit by the FLOWER bug. So I made some poppies with Creative Paperclay® modeling material! Inspired by Layered Fabric Flowers, you can see my step by step tutorial about how you can make your own poppies on the Creative Paperclay® modeling material's BLOG, RIGHT HERE. I also used these babies on a piece of art work I'll be sharing later this month!
Disclosure: As a member of Creative Paperclay® modeling material's design team, I receive product at no cost to myself.

Creative Paperclay Term TWO!

2013-05-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

I in the game for another term!! So thrilled to be working for this company again! Check out the new team!

Google Reader is leaving the building...

2013-04-25T14:49:00.005-07:00

You may have already heard... Google Reader is leaving town. Kaput. It is going to be no more... So I started shopping around, and I found Feedly.
Feedly takes feed readers to a whole new level, and making the switch from Google Reader is seamless. I mean it.
SEAM.
LESS.
Feedly is what feed readers want to be when they grow up.
On top of that?
It's also an APP.
That's right, people. You can have your feed reader ON YOUR PHONE.
Droid or iPhone, it's all good. Feedly's got you covered!! I just wanted to be sure that all you's out there got on the right bandwagon before the Google train leaves the station.

You're welcome.

Making Twisted Metal with Amazing Mold Putty and Casting Resin

2013-04-20T07:00:00.000-07:00

I created a new piece of artwork this week, and I bent up a key to do it!! Wanna know how? Hop over to the Amazing Mold Putty's BLOG, RIGHT HERE!
Disclosure: As a member of Amazing Mold Putty's design team, I receive product at no cost to myself.

Creative Paperclay® Design Team submission

2013-04-10T21:00:00.000-07:00

I'm throwing in my creative hat to stay on as a member of the Creative Paperclay® Modeling Material design team!! As part of our submission, we need to share some of the things we have made with Creative Paperclay® and also share a tutorial on our blogs. So! Here goes! Here is a sampling of the things I have made using Creative Paperclay® while I have been part of the team. You can click on any of the images below and be taken to the tutorials on the Creative Paperclay® blog.

Day of the Dead Sugar Skull

Custom Bust

Repaired a Vintage frame

Texture Plates with Delight

Robin's Eggs

I also completed two custom order art pieces where I used Creative Paperclay®. The mugs are dimensional, and come off the canvas.

And last but not least, I'm sharing my Gnome! Just in time for Spring. Here is my tutorial on how I made the little guy.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Newspaper or tin foil
Creative Paperclay® modeling material
Masking tape (if you use newspaper)
Acrylic Craft paints (I used Folk Art)

I started by creating the same core technique that I used in last month's post. The reason I'm sharing this technique again, is because I want you to see how truly EASY Creative Paperclay® really is!! This time, I made my core MUCH larger. Creating a core with foil, or newspaper is really a great idea anytime you can use it. It saves you clay, and dry time!

Once I had my core, I covered my core in Creative Paperclay. I wet it all a little bit, to help the clay stick, and spread it as evenly as I could around the outside. Not too thin! I want to sand it later.

Once everything was dry, I knew I wanted to make a hat for my guy, so I screwed a screw into the whole deal, to anchor my second layer of newspaper. Now, If I had planned a little better, I could have skipped the nail, and just made my core in the right shape. This way turned out fine, though.

Now, I wrap my newspaper around the screw and tape it in the general shape I'm trying to achieve. (in this case, a pointy hat)

You can see that there was some cracking in my clay when it dried, so I'll fill that with a little wet clay.

Once again, I tried to get my clay as smooth as I could, but I also don't worry about EVERY little lump. We can sand those out later.

before sandpaper

Once everything is dry again, I sand the whole thing until it's smooth. I also made sure to keep the bottom flat, so my little guy doesn't turn into a weeble wobble!

after sandpaper

Next. I painted the little guy!

Once I was done with that, I added some shading and his little face. I finished him with some matte sealant. I don't think he'd be fit to sit outside, but he's definitely ready to cheer me up on the shelf inside with my house plants!

I think he needs a name... any ideas?

Thank you so much for visiting and checking out what I have to offer! I'm looking forward to thinking up more ways I can use Creative Paperclay®!! I'm also excited to try my hand at some new sculpting now that I have BATS under my belt!!

Make your own Spring Gnome

2013-04-04T21:00:00.000-07:00

This month, I'm bringing SPRING indoors with Creative Paperclay® modeling material! Want to Gnow how I did it? (sorry! I couldn't resist) You can see my step by step tutorial about how you can make your own Gnome on the Creative Paperclay® modeling material's BLOG, RIGHT HERE!
Disclosure: As a member of Creative Paperclay® modeling material's design team, I receive product at no cost to myself.

Monday Morning Mugshot with GOAT BABIES!

2013-03-18T12:52:00.002-07:00

My Monday Mugshot... never mind that the mug is blurry! THE KIDS ARE HERE!!

THE BABIES HAVE ARRIVED!! Ginger finally kidded, and our guessing game is OVER. If we had been playing Russian Roulette, I would be a loser. Thankfully, I can now say that my pregnancy detection skills are INTACT. Ginger had three kids! Two doelings and a buckling. Of course she waited until after midnight to have them. That way, my "I'm pretty sure today is the day" comment earlier was a lie. They have yet to be named... but will eventually have cooking/spice names. First up, is the buckling! He was baby number two in the kidding order. Came out yelling. Good thing too, because Ginger was pretty quiet about the whole thing, and we missed the actual births of the first two. Only got there in time to dry everyone off.

Here's the beautiful momma with her baby boy this morning.

Here is baby number one. She came out first, a beautiful tri colored girl, with her momma's ginger color for her primary, with black and white spots.

Brother checking sister out.

Here's baby number three. She came out breech, and took a little while to follow her brother and sister out, but Ginger managed her like a pro, and thankfully, none of the kids were especially huge like they were last year. This little girl is black, with a lighter sprinkling of white hairs mixed in than her brother. I really like the way it looks, though.

Sister checking to see if sister is where the milk is...

Another shot of doeling number three. You can see her salty sprinkles better in this shot.

And so begins the kidding season on the Pretzel Place!! Can't wait to see what kind of kids Lucy has, and also if she is the milker I hope her to be.

Woman Who Stares at Goats

2013-03-15T11:43:00.001-07:00

This will be the first year I'm having babies that were made AND born on my farm! Ginger is the only one I'm not sure of her due date, or if she's even pregnant, but if she's not, then I have a fat goat with a precocious udder. She's past my due date guess, so if we don't have babies in the next day or so, I'm in trouble. lol Lucy is due next week! I can't wait to see how she does as a milker.

So that's what I've been up to. Watching goats. It's not nearly as fun as it sounds, I tell ya.

Painting Progress

2013-03-06T15:41:00.001-08:00

A painting in the works! I love what instant coffee in paint does. Smells delicious too!

Make Your Own Robin's Eggs

2013-02-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

This month, I'm getting in the Spring spirit using Creative Paperclay® modeling material! Want to see how I did it? You can see my step by step tutorial to make your own robin's eggs on the Creative Paperclay® modeling material's BLOG, RIGHT HERE!
Disclosure: As a member of Creative Paperclay® modeling material's design team, I receive product at no cost to myself.

Getting closer!!

2013-02-25T23:55:00.003-08:00

More work on display pieces today!! I spent most of it in my PJ's, but managed to get things done. She's dry tonight, hoping to get her finished! My custom art order is also finished!! I'll share those later. Spent a great evening with Travis as a late anniversary date, and now we're in bed on our computers next to each other. Ahhh, love. lol
Working on some goodies to put in the shop too.

A little teaser.

Display Pieces

2013-02-22T11:00:00.001-08:00

TWO THINGS:
1) I have show and tell to show and tell you.
2) I'd like your opinions!!
I have been busy getting my booth space ready at a local shop called Magpie's Marketplace, and I've already built a custom piece of furniture for the shop with Travis' help! Today, I finished another piece for the display area!!

Inspired by my friend Renee Smart's bird cage displays!

I cut the front out of the cage so that I can place things inside it without difficulty.

The top of my display at Magpie's is more narrow than the birdgage, and I have it placed so that there is a lip all the way around the top shelf, which makes the cage too large for it's spot. To fix that, I decided to elevate the cage above the rim of the top shelf! I had a piece of wood cut to fit under the base, and screwed the cage to that. Then I bolted a cast iron piece from one of my disassembled lamp bases I've used for my dolls.

I'm really excited about how it turned out! I have a metal picture frame that has detail similar to the base here, so I think I'll spray paint it, and use this image inside it.

So here's where you come in...
I'm using red as an accent for the display. My hooks will be read, some of the baskets will be red, and the stand for my mannequin will be red... I purposely didn't paint the cage red, because I liked the look of the black, but I think I want to spray paint the frame red, and hang it in the back of the cage with a red ribbon. So what's your vote? Black frame or Red? Here's a photo of the display Travis and I built out of two thrift store finds! It's the anchor piece in my booth.

Monday Mugshot Collaboration

2013-02-18T11:32:00.002-08:00

When Macs was smaller, he LOVED to create art. Once, I interviewed him when he was just ten days shy of turning five, ABOUT HIS ART. I still get choked up when I read that interview about him being an artist. In his interview, he said "The world is all the art that I can do." In the context of our conversation, he meant that there were no limits to what he could do as an artist, and he could make all the art in the world. I love that so much. It's one of my favorite quotes. Check out what everyone else is creating for this week's collaboration at A Year in the Life of an Art Journal!

Sixteen Years Ago...

2013-02-16T11:51:00.001-08:00

Sixteen years ago, Travis and I started dating... we had been best friends for over three years. Valentine's Day that spring after this photo was taken, we were married.

I can't believe what KIDS we were!! This picture is from our anniversary this year. Fifteen years we've been married now! We did one of my favorite things. Worked together on a project. That stack of wood behind us? We did that. Split and stacked it. Just us two. It was a good anniversary.

Everybody's your Valentine.

2013-02-13T23:22:00.001-08:00

Seventy Valentines made for Macs to take to school. The boy's school is small... and ever since we moved here, we have always made enough Valentines for the whole school. It's a small school, with around 60 kids from K-6th grade. I've always felt like it was a bit much for the WHOLE school to trade Valentines, and I have complained (even if halfheartedly) about it.
Until this year, when Macs told me, "No, mom! We don't HAVE to give Valentines to the whole school. Just our CLASS, and then we can give them to any of our friends in any other classes we WANT to."
So basically, that means that Macs is just friends with the whole school. For some reason, knowing this, makes the 70 Valentines less painful. That, and I take the easy way as often as possible. Like the year we printed Josh's out... and this year, I used red masking tape folded over the sticks on some Dollar Tree suckers to create a "flag" with his name on it. Cost me four bucks and some time to get the tape onto the sticks. Seeing as we give them to the whole school, he doesn't have to write recipient names down either, so that's a plus.

Valentine Mugshot

2013-02-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

Travis helped me with my mugshot this week for Monday Mugshots and I love him so much for that... My cup of LOVE. Even though the kids drank the last of the creamer... and I had to improvise for my shot!! What's in your mug this week?

The Force is Strong with This One.

2013-02-08T15:34:00.001-08:00

The moment when the leaf suspended by a spider's spinneret makes your kiddo think about "using the force"...?
I caught it.

I made my own texture plates for art stamping!

2013-01-31T21:00:00.001-08:00

This month, I made texture plates for stamping on my art journals using DelightTM air dry modeling compound! Want to see how I did it? You can see my step by step tutorial on the Creative Paperclay® modeling material's BLOG, RIGHT HERE!
Disclosure: As a member of Creative Paperclay® modeling material's design team, I receive product at no cost to myself.