Catch Up Time

Once again I have gone much too long w/out posting.  I have made some progress on my art room
but I'm not where I want it to be yet. (meaning no pictures yet)
 Hot water heater died which is forcing us to clean out the garage-something we said we needed to do a year ago.  At least it is finally getting done.  I'm going to work on some projects that I put out there and just
"forgot" about.  My mom saved our baby bed-so when they moved I kept it with the intention of making something for each of us to hang. (rail sides and each end piece) I get one of each since I am the one doing the work :)  Got them cleaned up today so I can actually work on them.                    
  I also re-discovered some of my dead animal bones and my bundle. (disintegration)
So here are pictures I took. This one stayed outside well over a year-maybe closer to two.

here is the bundle before unraveling it.

pulled the twill out of the washer-chicken wire is already falling apart

unwound once

close up of washer sewn onto the fabric

very fragile

another washer and it's rust stain

cardboard is stuck to the fabric

texture-chicken wire, muslin, scrim, cardboard

totally unraveled

The Time Has Come...

to actually get myself in gear and clean/organize/purge in my art room.  I've said it before, started, put it off, ignored the room.  We've all done it.  Got shelf with fabric mostly organized.  Working on my table now.  At times i want to shove it all in a box and throw it away-probably wouldn't miss half of it.
Then i find something i forgot i had and it's like Christmas all over...

My table before.

My table as of now..at least i can see the surface

Here is my shelf with fabrics and sewing stuff-before it was crammed in all wonky and stuff piled up in front of the shelf.  Rest of the room is still chaos but i'm getting there.  baby steps...

Long Time Coming

My parents have finally moved into the house that they had built.  March 1 was the official move in date.
All those months of being their own contractor have finally paid off.  My sister, niece, her nephew and I drove out there march 16th to help with unpacking. (and again on march 25) I'll have to post more pictures once all the unpacking is done and stuff hung on walls.  every picture I have has boxes in it.

Front (sort of ) view of the house

back of the house

 I've also been trying to scan family photo's into the computer so we can all have copies of them.  We've come across some we have never seen before.  Really makes me miss St Louis.  I often wish that we hadn't moved away and that I had grown up there along with all the other cousins and family.

My grandmother-Clara Adams and neighbor. (good friend of the family)

Luther Montgomery on the right (grandfather) he had such a wonderful smile and laugh. (his brother on the left)

Luther and Clara on the right (brother on left)

Montgomery family (minus my mom) 717 Ruprecht in Lemay M

issouri

My grandfather, aunt, grandmother, aunt and uncle
luther, norma, clara, linda and kevin.  Quite the dapper family. Easter maybe?  (grandpa didn't go with them to church)

On a Roll...

While in the middle of cleaning my art room (which is put on hold again) I started making some fabric collages. Here are a few-in progress.  Some estate sale finds-fabric, lace and buttons helped motivate me to get back to this ~ I intended to finish some i had started years ago-but ended up making new ones.  I also intended to make mini's.  These are turning more into "mediums."

when you wish upon a star...

 I will post more as I get them finished.  They will probably end up in my etsy shop.

same image, different style...WIP

I think this one is done.

still needs "something"...

A Year of Milestone Birthdays

50th Birthday Bundle Book

 
This year I have several friends and family members that have milestone birthdays.  50th and 60th.
Today, my brother in law turns 60.  10 days ago, a friend turned 50.  Said friend has a you tube channel where she entertains thousands on a regular basis.  She also shares ideas, tips, tricks and her nostrils.  She has had me as a guest in her home on several occasions throughout the years.
So, for Shannon's birthday I decided that i needed to make her something special.  You only turn 50 once.
 I had taken an online class (see this post) in May and knew that this would be the perfect thing for her birthday-a keepsake of sorts. This "book" is made up of pockets-so she could keep cards or memento's in it.  I first started making a fairly colorful one-in her favorite colors but didn't like the way it was coming along
so i scrapped that and decided 50 deserved to be black.  Since I didn't want to rub it in her face too badly, i went with an elegant look: black, white and metallic.  I wanted a fairly large size so the pockets would be big.
 Once I finished the book, i set it aside and patiently waited for Jan to get here.  I also enlisted the help of her fellow facebook moderators to spread the word-If you wanted to make a birthday card for shannon, you could do so and send to me to include in the book.  I knew that doing it so early AND before the holidays could prove detrimental.  If people procrastinate, as artists do, then they would forget over the holiday season.  People came through-and I had enough cards to put in all the book pockets. 
I decided I couldn't just send the book-it was a birthday after all.  Things are tight in their home right now as Jayson is looking for work. (this is known so i'm not divulging family secrets) So...I wanted to add a bit of "fun" to the box.  Brownie mix (easier than a cake) candles, balloons, horns, twizzlers and some other little goodies. 
 The box went off in the mail and for once, the PO actually delivered it in priority mail time. (usually it's just a "guideline."    Imagine my surprise to find out she was afraid to open it.  Seems she thought i had sent her
another doll.  Like i would do that. (ok, maybe i would, but i did promise after the last doll incident, there would be no more) i just shot myself in the foot with that comment but i did promise.  Don't want her to have a heart attack after all.  Then 20,000+ people would hate me for sure.  She finally braved the box-saw that it was legit. (as in no doll)  and filmed the opening.  You can see that here if you haven't.
 So here are pictures of said book bundle...
 

book unrolls. this is the far right inside of the book

pocket page-the rips can actually hold something if you slide it through.

more pockets

pocket made into a pocket

close up of the glitter 50

folding the book in-velvet pocket with ribbon accent

screen pockets...and my knee

One of the pockets-made from screen

February Already!~

Well, I see i have neglected the blog again.  Can't believe that it is February already.  I had big plans for january: getting back on my treadmill, getting my art room in order (HA) getting the house cleaned up from
all art stuff that should be in said art room...Not done yet. I hope to check it all off my list by the end of this month.  I have been hooked on making my fabric ribbon-and getting my Etsy store back up.  I had some
people ask about the ribbon and others that said "you should sell this" so i thought i would give it a try.
I've already made one roll for someone so I had a sale before I even got store ready!   Hopefully it will be set up by friday~that's my goal anyway. 

My parents' house is almost done~finally.  They think they will be in it by March.  Drive way has been poured and all the bits and pieces of finishing are pretty much done. I think they have to have a final inspection then they have the OK to move in... They went through Owner/Builder where you are the contractor-so they did one step at a time and were there every day when the workers were doing their thing.  I got to see it last summer when it was just studs-so of course we signed several boards.  My dad wrote under the stairwell the story of the house-date started and names...Guess i'll take another road trip in March to see the finished product.  I know they will be glad to get out of their tiny apartment-they won't know what to do with all the space.
  I guess another goal should be updating my blog a bit more.  I do have another post planned after something else happens-a certain present has to be opened before i can put pictures on here ;)

Reflections on the Year

I spent most of  December sick-first mild food poisoning, then a stomach virus that knocked me out, then a respiratory "thing."   I work for a casino party company and Dec. is the busy month.  I was lucky enough that the stomach thing happened after the first busy wkend.  The respiratory/head crap-not so much.  I could barely talk one wkend.  Made it kind of hard to deal blackjack and joke around but i managed.  The most unusual party this year was my last one.  It was held at a daycare.  (for the employees) There were only 3 of us working.  I was in the toddler room. Roulette wheel and abc's...
  I was also hosting Christmas Eve again this year.  For 13.  I decided to do spaghetti again-it's easy and everyone liked it last year.  I also decided (in between 5 million trips to grocery stores/errands/shopping) that i needed to move furniture around so we could fit two tables in the living room and all sit together.
 I found "chalkboard" table clothes at walmart.  I made mini menu's for each place.  I did my seating "cards" with my vintage anagrams/scrabble tiles.  Chalk on the tables, Christmas dishes-candles-you get the picture.
I hope so because i forgot to take a single picture.  It was down to the wire getting it all ready in time and when the first person showed up, I totally forget to get a shot before everyone got here.  Oh well.  Food was good, played a movie trivia game (i had the cards on the tables) and opened gifts.  The nephews and niece played blackjack.  Addie (8) won. :) 
   I shoved a bunch of stuff into my art room so the house would be in order.  Now comes the time that I must head into said room and start back on the task of getting it in order so that i can actually create in there again.  I stopped doing anything in there when i got hooked on my sewing.  So my goal will now be to put the room in order for real this time.
  I started thinking back on the year and what art i have done.  I realized that I did no journaling, no mixed media that i can think of-it was just sewing.  I also worked on the room a bit-moving stuff around a lot.  This year i want to do better.  I still have sewing projects i want to do.  I want to get back to my art journal.  I really wish i could concentrate on one real medium...fabric/sewing/books are where i lean right now.  Maybe that is what i will concentrate on in the new year.  I also signed up for some online classes that I need to finish or even watch.  No more until those get my attention.
  So here is hoping for a more artful year for me-and anyone else who is so inclined.
Happy New Year!

Current Obsession

Fun pink ribbon

After taking an online class where we made a fabric scrap tie to close the book and seeing /making paper ribbon with scraps, i'm now obsessed with making "fabric ribbon."
Part of my "use up what you have" mentality.  I'll admit i have bought a few new fabrics/tulle to match what
I have when I don't feel there is enough variety.  What can i say?  Fabric is addicting.  I've been playing with fabric one way or another since i was 5 or 6.  My mom used to work for Stretch & Sew, World of Fabrics and taught sewing.  I can remember in the early 70's-the "make your own lingerie" fad came about.  The local paper wrote an article about my mom-"Mrs Moody" (never once did they use her name.)  I can remember some women coming to our house (maybe for a class) and i was messing with some scraps making a flower. (gathered fab)  My mom would make them for house shoes.  I remember hearing one of the ladies ask my mom if I knew what I was doing.  (I think she thought i was just messing around "copying" they actions of my mom.)  She told them "yes she does."  So there.
  Back to now~I can't seem to stop making my ribbon.  I recently used a piece to wrap a baby shower gift-it got passed around the room because some people wanted to look at it more closely.  I made it so that it could be hung as garland after used for wrapping.  Below you'll see a sampling of some of the rolls~

This is my "floaty" style

The silver/gray was added to a baby shower gift-you can see a peek of it.

Christmas colors

Purple for an art friend

Christmas with a vintage twist (the green and touch of pink)

Another Christmas style-this one was for my mom

Colorful roll

Two on left were from a book tie-made more than needed.  Two on right were the silver/gray

Recent Artwork

 I recently took an online class from Nellie Wortman.   (Altered Fabric Book)  Really enjoyed the class and even though   I'm still working on this book, i look forward to making more!

This is the cover-i still want to add a bezel at the bottom.  A closer look at the spine.

 A peek at the pages.

vintage envelope

lace hankerchief

another peek at a page