i’ve been taking an indie biz class over here. the class just wrapped last week and my fellow classmates put together a blog, shop and product launch day for today April 11th. the people in this class have been bizzy! i’m only going to list the shop openings today, tomorrow i will give you a list of blogs to check out!
each year i send out a new years card to friends and family. in addition to my vision for the new years card i needed the following items to implement my idea:
16 quotes
2 pieces of art, created by me, using photoshop
60 copies of each piece of art, cut to size
60 pieces of celestial blue card stock, cut to size
180 hand cut white glitter triangles
120 hand cut blue swirl triangles
120 8 inch skewers, painted white
20 feet of white ribbon cut into 120, 2 inch pieces, to hold banner skewers
70 feet of white ribbon cut into 60, 14 inch pieces, to hold banner triangles
60 pieces of white card stock printed with oprah quote for the front of the packet
60 pieces of black card stock for the back of of the packet
20 feet of white ribbon cut into 240, 1 inch pieces, to hold packets together
1020 glue dots and zots
i love figuring out how i’m going to make these creations, here’s some photos of the process.
i saw this and loved the idea of a spiral of quotes
as i played around with the idea i found that the quotes were
going to get lost in the galaxy and would be too hard to read
one thing i couldn’t control was the way the printer’s copier would print the galaxy side of my card.
their copier gave the galaxy a brownish cast and it lost some of its blue sparkle. after a couple hours of trying to get it to work i just had to let it go because i didn’t want to have to print and cut all of the pieces myself. all of the cards went out in the mail January 31st, i am a bit of a procrastinator.
the girl shown here is my own sketch of the girl in the post below. for the just take the first step artwork i started with a magazine page, added the quote and then embellished the page and the girl. it was fun to sketch my own rendition, and then give her a quote of her own.
i love this quote. i think i created this page as a reminder to myself that it is true. there are a few items that keep showing up on my to do lists. one of them has been on my list for more than 20 years! i truly believe that the biggest obstacle to achieving these goals is myself. i’ve accomplished lots of other things that never even made onto my list! so seriously, i have to wonder why i don’t just say yes.
some of my favorite bloggers are choosing their “word” for 2011, and i have been trying to decide what mine would be. i didn’t know what it was when i started this post, wasn’t even thinking about it, but i know it now…yes
i love a challenge! a few months ago i climbed the willis tower, in chicago. you know the place, it used to be named the sears tower. the tower stands 1450 feet tall and it is 110 stories to the top. this was my 3rd time climbing and each time i drive into chicago for the race and see the building looming above all the rest i get butterflies. what a great feeling, it’s exciting. the first time i climbed the tower i really did have to take the first step in faith, it was the great unknown.
to get ready for this challenge, or any other here are some tips.
1. train for it. if it’s the willis tower climb or anything else you want to accomplish, get ready. whether that means working out, taking a class or doing your own research to prepare for your upcoming endeavor, do it. learn as much as you can about your mind and body’s abilities to insure your success. i climbed over 2000 steps several times before the race and i looked at previous years results to see how long it took various people to finish the climb.
body and mind fit, check!
2. know what you need to make it easier to succeed. for the willis tower i put together music to listen to during the climb and charged up my ipod the night before. i also found my lightest running shoes, why make the climb harder, every ounce counts. you can’t control everything in the climb, or in life, so do what you can ahead of time to make your journey easier. for me, i knew i needed music to inspire me and to block out that voice in my head that would prefer to be sipping a nonfat, one pump, vanilla latte in the lobby.
ducks in a row, check!
3. set goals. the night the race before i chose two times to finish the race in that i would be happy with. then i calculated where i needed to be at 30 floor increments. i also knew when a certain song came on i needed to be done or close to done with the climb. that song meant the end should be near so i needed to pick up the pace. i would need to channel flo-jo to achieve my first goal, finish the climb in 25 minutes. 25 minutes would give me first place in my age group, and cheers and television interviews would surely follow. under 30 minutes was my backup time. even with all of my preparations, for some reason i lose track of what floor i’m on and how many floors i have left. when i heard THE song start playing i started to get disappointed because i thought i had about 20 more flights to climb. i quit thinking about the 20 flights and that i may have missed both of my goals and just keep pushing myself to keep my current pace or go faster. within seconds i could hear people cheering, omg i WAS at the end. which brings me to my next point.
4. NEVER GIVE UP…EVER. i could have had a let down and just decided, oh well i didn’t hit my goals so what does it matter, but i kept going and found that i had miscalculated my position. no i didn’t get first place in my age group, but i did get 4th place, and i did finish in under 30 minutes which puts me ahead of more than 1100 of the 2065 climbers. whenever i feel like i want to cash it in i think of my favorite quote from iyanla vanzant: “remember that any moment could be THE moment, don’t give up five minutes before the miracle happens.” love it, and it’s so true. i have found in the past that i’ll get an urge to give up on something right towards the end. but when i keep persevering i find that the reward is just around the corner and definitely worth the wait.
intestinal fortitude, check!
5. be kind to yourself and others. there are lots of people on the stairs, and navigating through life, and these people may not have the same goals as you do. this climb is a charity event so some people did their work ahead of time and raised a bunch of money for the cause, they are taking their time and just enjoying the climb. so as with anything in life, you can’t predict what you obstacles you may run into along the way to your goal and it’s best if you don’t get discouraged or upset when you do run into them. you need to find the best way you can to overcome anything that is hindering you from achieving your goal. i will, by the way, still keep the same lofty 25 minute goal for next year…cause you just never know.
group hug, check!
i’ll leave you with a quote from mallory, a contestant on a tv show called the amazing race. mallory ran a race around the world with her dad, gary. they were eliminated in episode 8 and as they showed mallory and her dad leaving the race this voice over played… “my dad always told me to keep going after your dreams. you’ve got one life, and you have to LIVE IT, FULL OUT…like it’s a race.”
i participated in an altered book round robin and i wanted to share some photos of my completed book. last week i talked about how the hardware store can become an art store. i wanted to show you a finished example of one of my suggestions from that post. before i sent this book off for the other artists to work in i covered the book with an anaglypta wallpaper border to jazz up the cover. the designs offered in this type of wallpaper are really cool, but the real bonus is that you can paint it any color you like so you can use the same wallpaper over and over and get a completely different look each time.
a tip from michelle ward is to use parts of the wallpaper as a stamp. just cover the motif with paint and press it onto your artwork. if you don’t think you could possibly use up a whole roll of the wallpaper, share it with your friends. each of you could buy a different design and then divide it up so you all have some to experiment with.
the knob on my book is a decorative cap off of one of my old perfume bottles. if you don’t have any of those handy just head to the cabinet department at the hardware store. the cabinet knobs and drawer pulls they have now are really nice and would work just a well.
have you used anaglypta (yep it’s just a fun word to say) before? do you have any other suggestions for using it in art? what art supplies do you buy at the hardware store?
have you ever been to harbor freight?! two words…muffler tape. till next time.
have you ever committed to doing something and then when you were in the midst of it you wondered “what the heck was i thinking?” i have found myself in that situation several times. as uncomfortable as those situations are, they usually turn out to be a very cool and sometimes life a changing experience for me, and i’m always pretty happy with myself afterward. it can be difficult to step out of your comfort zone, but i think it is soooo necessary. Jack Canfield, in his book, the success principles, describes our comfort zone as a self-created prison that we are living in.
i stepped way out of my comfort zone when i went to see the royal gorge in colorado. my husband and i saw the royal gorge as we were driving and decided to check it out. as we stood in line to ride the aerial tram across the gorge i started chatting with another lady and somehow we both decided to ride the “colorado porch swing” together. i have to wonder what stars had aligned for two total strangers to meet up and decide to take a ride on a swing that flies out over a drop off of over 1100 feet! how does that happen? it was so bizarre that i knew i had to do it. my husband filmed it and i put together a video of the experience. on the video you’ll see some info about the gorge, then video of us telling ourselves that “it’s not so scary” and then you see us sharing probably one of the scariest moments of our lives, two total strangers. you’ll hear me telling, actually yelling at her to open her eyes, she did most of the ride with her eyes closed, and then i included a couple of inspirational quotes at the end of the video.
so wait for it…wait for it…and i hope you enjoy it, i know it made me smile as i made the video and i was so glad i had flown out of my comfort zone that day.
what have you done to step out of your comfort zone? after it was over were you happy that you did it? even if it didn’t turn out as well as you would have liked, what did you learn about yourself?
the next time you need inspiration for your art projects, make a trip to your local hardware store. it may seem an unlikely place to discover your muse, and yet you’ll find many products that can spark your creative juices. i’ll give you a list of some of my favorites, but be sure to create your own list with a trip to the hardware store.
i was introduced to this paper when i took a class with lynne perrella . as you can see from the link, rosin paper is super cheap. it’s under $10 and comes in a 36 inch wide roll and is anywhere from 140 feet to 170 feet long. you’ll find it in the building department, either in the roofing or flooring dept. we used it as our surface to paint and stencil on and since this red roll is so cheap you’ll definitely get over any white page syndrome you may suffer from . some students kept their work as large paintings and others folded them into books. whatever you decide to do it’s a great way to work on a large surface that doesn’t cost you a fortune.
when I need an overlay I go to the screen department and pick up a roll of the replacement screen mesh. it’s inexpensive and it comes in a black plastic and silver wire mesh. this mesh will add visual interest to your art. you can use it as a tip in page for an altered book or you can use it to cover a niche, either in a altered book or on a wooden box. you can tear part of the screen open to reveal a face or highlight a word or object. you could cut letters or shapes out of it too. to achieve another cool look hold two pieces of mesh together and then rotate the back piece until you get the appearance you like. there are so many cool possibilities!
a heavier duty mesh that is wonderful to use is hardware cloth. it is actually made of metal, comes in a roll, and you buy it by the foot. this can be used as is, or you can weave fibers, ribbons etc. through the holes. you can snip a wire in the mesh, bend it out, add a bead, and bend the wire back into place with the bead covering your cut. clip a section of wires completely out and you can hang an object within that area. throw a coat of paint over the hardware cloth before you embellish for a whole new look. chicken wire has a different look but can give a similar effect.
anaglypta, is otherwise know as embossed paintable wallpaper. it comes in large rolls for walls and smaller width rolls for borders. they look exquisite when painted and accented with your favorite color combinations. because they are deeply embossed it’s easy to get terrific highlights by brushing lightly over the paper with gold, silver or your favorite color.
you’ll find this in the paint aisle…duh, captain obvious. it comes in a long roll and you can buy different widths and colors. each hardware store chain carries it in different colors, so be sure to check around. I’ve seen kraft brown, mossy green and blue. I have seen widths ranging from 6 to 12 inches. this is very lightweight paper tape that stamps and folds nicely. it’s perfect for many applications including accordion booklets and pockets.
this is a just partial list from and article i wrote for ISABA, the international society of altered book artists, several years ago, but the items on this list can be used in all types of art. take some time to go through your hardware store and look at the products with new eyes. you will be surprised at all of the new possibilities that await you! let me know what you find! i’ll add onto this list next week.
several years ago i had the opportunity to see teesha’s fabric journals in person at artfest, and wanted to make one of my own. i didn’t know exactly how she created hers, but i gave it a shot anyway. below are a couple pics of my teesha inspired journal.
teesha moore, in case you’re not familiar, is an amazing mixed media artist and organizer of several cool art retreats. this description barely scratches the surface of all of her talents and accomplishments, so to see more of who she is and what she has accomplished check out her website.
a few months ago i discovered that teesha had posted 7 videos on youtube. teesha shows how to make a 16 page journal, then she shares how she creates her gorgeous and quirky journal pages. anyhow, the reason for my post is to tell you that teesha has now posted videos that show how she makes her fabric journals. we are so lucky to have these videos. it’s just like being in class, but without the travel expense! here’s the first one, if you like what you see you can go to youtube to check out the rest. what a great way to use up some of my fabric stash!
the beauty of an 8 gig memory card is that i can store a lot of pictures on it and i don’t have to worry about running out of space while i’m shooting pictures. the bad thing is that i don’t download them right away cause i’ve got lots of space. can you see where this is going? so i had an 8 gig sd memory card that had lots of pictures and videos of daily life, my family, family vacations etc. i was able to view the pictures just fine on my camera but when i put the card into my computer i received this dreaded message, “card is not formatted, format now?” now speaking of memory… since i didn’t post this right away, like i said i was going to, i have forgotten the order of and all of the actions that took place after seeing that message. but the gist of it is, a variety of desperate attempts were made until it became clear that there was no way to get my computer and later my camera to see the contents of the memory card, it was corrupted. but, as always google to the rescue. i entered in something about my memory card not reading and i found several posts that referenced, photorec, a free program for digital picture recovery. here’s their description:
PhotoRec is file data recovery software designed to recover lost files including video, documents and archives from hard disks, CD-ROMs, and lost pictures (thus the Photo Recovery name) from digital camera memory. PhotoRec ignores the file system and goes after the underlying data, so it will still work even if your media’s file system has been severely damaged or reformatted. AMAZING!
they provide clear, step by step directions. it looks like you are working in dos mode if i remember right but just do what it says. photorec recovered all of my photos and videos! most importantly, if you have accidentally deleted a file you want to retrieve or you are having a problem with a disk or card, do NOT add any more files, pictures etc. because you may overwrite the files making it impossible to retrieve them.
that’s my tip for the day, now i’m off to download a 2 months of pics from my 16 gig card. will i never learn?!
i’ve been taking several online classes and each class uses flickr to create a “group” where we can show our photos and communicate with one another. i’m not on facebook because it seems too invasive, so i’m hoping flickr will be a good alternative that i’ll have more control over. since i’ve just started using flickr i’m learning new features every time i log on. i like that i can upload all my photos as private and then decide who gets to see what. it’s fun to see the comments that people leave. i have to admit that i check to see how many views my pictures have had too. even if viewers don’t leave a comment i get an idea of what type of photo or artwork makes people want to click for a better look. i just found out today that i can leave a note on a picture to describe a certain part of it and viewers can highlight a portion of the photo and leave a note relating to that particular area. very cool!
so in my google travels to learn more about flickr i found spell flickr and here’s what i made, with their help:
this may be old news to everyone else but it’s new to me so if you have any other fun flickr facts let me know. oh here’s my flickr photostream
later this week i’ll tell you about a lifesaving free program i found while googling. ok… it didn’t save my life but it did save some tears
hi and thanks for stopping by the cafe!
my name is andrea and i am a grown ass woman and i’m still finding my way. i am curious about so many things and one of my favorite past-times to do is google any question that comes up. if only the internet had been around when i was newly married and having children. in lieu of the internet i loved the library…that’s all we had back then! read more here
