ATC 40 - Page 6

Cards 1..7 are from some of CHG's Scottish-descent relatives. Card 3 is from CHG's aunt, listing Celtic bands that she likes. Card 6 is from CHG's uncle, showing scenes of Scottish culture. CHG's aunt takes care of her daughter's three children. The trio made cards 1 and 2 for their parents and cards 4, 5, and 7 for themselves.

When Pounce and Lady J wed in August of 2005, young Card 7 Artist was feeling a bit fussy. He didn't want to do what his mama asked of him. Just as the minister asked "Who gives Lady J to this man, Pounce?" Card 7 Artist boldly told his mama, "NO, NO, NO!" much to the amusement of the congregation. A coincidence we will tell often.

Card 8 is from the teacher who did attend my party, known as Short. We had three math teachers in our school system who all had the same last name. Short as at junior high, and the other two were known as Teacher Upstairs and Teacher Downstairs, much like a Tomie de Paola book. Short is my favorite teacher. I had her for seventh and ninth grade math. She is the one who taught me Krypto and the Cyclic Math Card Game and the Math in Your Head game that I never kept up with.

She is drawing for me what I drew for her. In ninth grade, my first period class was a runner for the attendance office. I had to take the mimeographed purple list of the day's absent kids to all of the teachers. On Short's copy, I would draw pictures.

When one is adding equations, and one equation has a term such as 4x^2 (four ecks squared) and the other equation didn't have any x^2 term, one was advised to write a 0x^2 (zero ecks squared) as a place holder, much like 405 has a place holder in the tens slot to keep it from looking like 45.

Mathy-artsy me saw 0x as an ox, and drew an ox. Thus, 0x^2 must be an ox that is drawn square and 0x^3 must be an ox that is drawn cubed. And Short remembers this, 26 years later. Cool.

She also said that she considered drawing her signature self-portrait of Mean Person, but didn't, and that a card from the elusive Maynard was lost. I suspect he spilled lemonade on it.

On the back of the card, she gave me a Krypto to solve.

{5, 27, 9, 12, 3}
{4}

Use all five upper numbers once and only once, in any order, to achieve the answer of the bottom number. If you solve it, leave the answer in the comments.
Typically, we keep the numbers between 1 and 20, inclusive. I mentioned that she went out of bounds with 27. Every other Krypto fan who saw her car noticed and commented about that as well. In this case, it can help to make a cool roundabout way to get to 4, involving sine.

Card 9 is from my mom. She likes cows so much she once drove a van that was painted white with black splotched. She likes stickers. She likes me. I'm glad that we get along so well.

ATC 40 - Page 5

Cards 1..5 are from a homeschooling family. Card 1 is from the mom. She punched the cat shape, then backed the card with purple construction paper.

Card 2 is from Son Number 2, who was in my MathCounts class for three years. Last year, we joked about pumpkins and pi and then the family carved a set of foam pumpkins for the Math Team teachers with a Pi letter carved out.

Card 3 is from Son Number 3, who was in my class for just one year. He made cake and Neapolitan ice cream for me on the card.

Card 4 is from Son Number 1, who I also had in class for only one year. This card suits him well. He produced a video promo for the homeschool Honor Society that had a spy theme to it.

Card 5 is from Son Number 4, who would have been in my Math Olympiads class this year, but isn't. I was also fond of drawing rainbow concentric outlines around shapes when I was in junior high. Our band folders featured a profile silhouette of a band in the bleachers and there were just too many cool shapes for me not to play with them.

Card 6 is from my junior high social studies teacher. My mom thinks he's cute. For my high school graduation, he gave me two pairs of nifty socks.

An aside:

I teased my mom before my birthday party. When I graduated from high school and mom hosted the typical graduation open house, at our house, she specifically asked me not to invite any of my teachers. Teachers made her nervous. She felt judged. Like they were going to grade her on decor or dust? I honored her wishes, though.

It disappointed me, because I have always like teachers as people. It took me quite a while to understand the term "brown-nosing" because I never expected to benefit by a grade for being friendly with my teachers. Maybe because my grades were good enough anyway. Sure, I liked the attention from them and the virtual pat on the head, but mostly I just liked talking with my teachers. I thought that someday I could be one. (Look at me now.)

So I teased Mom, telling her that I invited a lot of teachers to my birthday party. Ha. Ha. Ha. Only one was able to attend, but many have sent cards.

Card 7 is from someone who first knew CHG and then became my friend, too. While visiting another church once, I saw a note on the bulletin board from her, asking for crafting playdates. So I called her, we set up a time, she had dinner with the family and we made some cards. It's fun to play with someone else's supplies. New ideas can spark. She makes her own line of greeting cards, decorated with flower petals in a smearing wavy way. This card is on watercolor paper and cut with deckle scissors.

Cards 8 and 9 are from a musician friend from both my summer and Local College bands, and from her 21mo son, whom my mom babysits once in a while.

ATC 40 - Page 4

Slots 1, 2, 3 are all from the lady who taught the Altered Book classes that I have taken. Slot 1 is the actual card. Slot 2 is the envelope that held the ATC, with the template found here. Slot 3 holds two stickers for labeling the backs of ATCs that she sent along for me to use. She used one herself, too.

Slots 4, 5, 6 are from a former homeschooling family. Daughter, Mom, Daughter. The Mom wrote on the back, Thank you for always bridging the gap" and says that this is the Duluth Ariel Bridge.

Slots 7, 8, 9 are from our minister's wife and her two grandsons. Grandson (4yo), Grandmother, Grandson (6yo). The Grandmother was reluctant to take a card, not knowing what to do, telling me that she was not an artist. I suggested that her older grandson could help her. As he was standing nearby, he overheard and eagerly agreed to help her. He also took cards for his brother, mom, and dad.

ATC 40 - Page 3

Card 1 is from my first grade teacher. It portrays a trio of in-jokes from third, second, and first grades.

• In third grade, we saw her on the steps in front of school, with her *boyfriend* and he called her *Barbie doll* GASP!
• In second grade, we saw her with a magazine from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) and we kept asking her what an Uck-Lah was.
• In first grade, we had to read along with the guy ion the tape recorder. He lengthened the vowel in "bulb" to "buuuhlb" The others in my reading group all thought sounded silly.

I laughed so hard at the card that only she could have given and she did. Hooray for Miss E.

Card 2 is from my dad, including three notes in bass clef spelling out DAD.

Card 3 came from serendipity (what a great word). This card about the Grinch, just the right size, was found as a book marker in a Pokemon book that Gonzo had checked out from the library.

Card 4 shares a favorite verse from neighbors across from my parents (next door to Kiti's old house) [Zephaniah 3:17].

Card 5 is again from Ganoush, describing my basement crafting area (which spills out to the rest of the basement).

Card 6 is from another April Mom and Cards 7 and 8 are from her daughters. Card 7 is completely laminated in clear 1/2" tape at varied angles. Great texture.

Card 9 is from the mother of my 1988 prom date. She just became a grandmother in September as Mr. 1988 and his wife had a daughter. This artist also apologized for her lack of talent. I sure don't see the lack.

ATC 40 - Page 2

Card 1 is from Ganoush again. She found a "40% OFF" line in a Sunday ad and declared that she "knew what to do with it."

Card 2 is from my Aunt "Maria", wife of my dad's younger brother "Georg" who died a couple of years ago. Aunt Maria wrote that she isn't an artist. I was getting a lot of comments like that. But obviously, she knows how to have fun with a four-color pen.

Card 3 is from Ganoush again.

Card 4 is from a friend in band. She attended Local College when I went away to My College. When I graduated and moved back, Local College's band was small and I was asked to sit in. This friend has also just graduated and stuck around to help out the trombone section. We are both still playing with Local College. My dad played with them for few years, and CHG also joined, when I told him that not only could he borrow a tuba, but he could start playing again...

Card 5 is from a homeschool mom. The article is about how sisters gave birth on the same day, resulting in this mom and her cousin. I did not know this about her until I received the card.

Card 6 is from the daughter of Card 5. She is in my homeschool Math Olympiads class this year.

Cards 7, 8, 9 are from an April Mom. We have stuck with our on-line, international pre-pregnancy group and still talk about our youngsters (and everything else), ten years later.

ATC 40 - Page 1

[1 2 3]
[4 5 6]
[7 8 9]
Numbering will always be top to bottom, left to right.
The cards are in plastic sleeves.
There will be a bit of a tilt to avoid flash reflection.
As always, clicking on a photo will show a larger view.

Ganoush made my first card. While I was crafting, I explained about the trading idea, so she made one for me as I worked on backgrounds.

A contrabass clarinet player made the second card, demonstrating Huygen's principle. I looked it up on Google and decided not to pursue it.

The third card was made during the Scottish event. A young friend sat with me during my shift at the schoolhouse. He was eager to make a trade and started drawing on site. He used my watercolor pencils and the blender brush, which he enjoyed using. He told me that he used to make pottery and would take pieces to art fairs to trade with other vendors.

The fourth card is a dragon, Welsh, perhaps? Also drawn on site at the fest, by a piper friend.

Card Five is from one of the homeschool teachers. She has done projects for on-street sculpture decoration and guides cancer patients through art therapy. She loved the ATC idea and was eager to take part. The other teachers were curious and open to the idea, but haven't yet returned a card.

Card Six if from my aunt and uncle, my dad's older brother. He has been a rock hound and a tatter for much more than forty years. When we would visit, he would always have his rock tumbler going in the garage. He would make jewelry from the rocks. Someone asked if his tatting was needles or shuttles. I don't know, but I'll find out. My uncle is in poor health and is under hospice care. Goof, he may not make it to Thanksgiving.

They gave us a matted doily for our wedding. Having another small piece, especially under these circumstances, is a treasure.

Cards Seven, Eight, Nine are from a friend at BigCo, where I worked for eleven years before my layoff in 2001. That was when she started an interest in rubber stamping and now she is quite the card artist.

Birthday Art Adventure

Well, the birthday art adventure didn't live up to my high hopes, but it was a wonderful 40th birthday. Two longtime friends (Reve and Kiti, my two bridesmaids!) were both in town from separate states for different events held in town that evening, so both were able to spend some time at the ATC open house. A few other in-town friends I thought couldn't be there arrived anyway. Others who said they would be there ended up missing it. C'est la vie. That's how an open house goes.

Today in the States is Columbus Day.
From Stan's Wikipedia entry:

Then there was this little exchange, as Freberg's Christopher Columbus is "discovered on beach here" by a Native American played by Marvin Miller. Being skeptical of the Natives' diet of corn and "other organically grown vegetables", Columbus wants to open "America's first Italian restaurant" and needs to cash a check to get started.

• Native: "You out of luck today. Banks closed."
• Columbus: "Oh? Why?"
• Native: "Columbus Day!"
• Columbus: "Oh, yeah." [pregnant pause] "We going out on that joke?"
• Native: "No, we do reprise of song. That help, but..."
• Columbus and Native together: "...not much, no!"

Well, not only are the banks closed today, there is not mail delivery. {Sigh} So no new ATCs today.

BUT! AND!

I have a delightful collection of art cards from before and during the party. One of my young Scout friends was so inspired by my supplies that he made ten ATCs in addition to the two he brought from home. His brother gave me five and three each from his sister and his mom.

My junior high math teacher "Short" stopped by and gave me a card reflected an in-joke, copying math drawings that I used to make for her 25 years ago.

Buni used to be my tech director at a local theatre. He had his lighting template with him (Doesn't everyone?) and made a little light plot for me.

CHG and Gonzo stopped by for a while during their Guy Time. I had a package in the mail from my One-Back ex-boyfriend. One-Back has been in a few bands in his Big City and he sent along six CDs from his performances and those of his buddies, plus a T-shirt from his current band (URL on request).

I got the cards from Relaxed Homeskool. Way cool. Kim, I'll answer you offline, but the answers are all about the same - I've already started doing that, being forty isn't what made the difference.

Kids were certainly more open and relaxed about making the art than most of the adults. Yet some adults were excited to give it a whirl, and others are starting to look into making more ATCs. One lady made a cool 3-D collage and scanned it. Another gave me some half-done cards for me to finish up. I've read of Round Robin cards on the web for some swaps.

The photos are of me with my cake and of all of the crafting supplies I provided.

Add to the Drawing ~ 3

Another picture to play with from Sage's Forums.

How odd, but whichever color I chose in MSPaint, the drawing appeared in a similar tone but only in shades of green. How did green hijack my palette?

ATC 40 Update

I am having such a great time with this project. I can make sheets of 10 at a time and have sent out about 450 cards, plus about 30 more of my own that I have kept for reference, different editions and such.

Making time to create refreshes me.

Ganoush has made five cards for me so far and says she might make forty, because I'll be forty. She knows she needs to make 35 more cards. She also noted today that after my birthday, both men in the house will be three years older than the woman closest to him in age.

I have received:

• a visual representation of Huygen's principle
• a small doily tatted by my Uncle, my dad's older brother. He is in failing health now.
• cards from former workmates
• cards from on-line friends I have never met
• a top ten list on why band concerts should not be outdoors
• a newspaper article that told me that a HS mom friend was born the same day as her cousin; sisters gave birth on the same day
• a card from one April Mom with a quote I associate with another April Mom:"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, martini in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming: WOO HOO!!! What a ride!!!"
• A trio of in-jokes from my first grade teacher (Barbie doll / UCLA / bulb) - I laughed so hard at the card that only she could have given and she did. Hooray for Miss E.
• A card from my dad including three notes in bass clef spelling out DAD.
• A card about the Grinch, just the right size, found as a book marker in a Pokemon book from the library
• A favorite verse from neighbors across from my parents (next door to Kiti's old house) [Zephaniah 3:17]
• Altered Art from the lady who teaches the Altered Art classes I take

When I approach someone about the art swap (as opposed to having it just show up in their mail) I've had many people tell me that they can't draw. How sad. The words of Fulghum are not getting out. You shouldn't lose your artist or your dancer or your inventor as you grow older. If you are in this camp - do not fret.

I'm trying to spread the word that just having a small memento from someone I care about is a joy and a treasure. A verse in someone's handwriting is cool. A doodle is fun. I could start a collection of simple smiley faces - that would be cheery.

I expect that more cards will arrive in the days to come, and some will bring theirs or make theirs at my Art Experience. A couple families have said that theirs are in the mail. I'm already having a great birthday.

Project ATC 40

On October 7th, I will turn 40. At 8:15 am. At the time I was born, according to an issue of TV Guide that I looked up at the local library, Captain Kangaroo was visiting a Dutch fishing village.

To celebrate the event, I am diving headfirst into Artist Trading Cards. I am making batches of 10 card sheets a la Lisa Vollrath, preparing them all pretty or funky, and I will send them out this weekend.

My intent is that the recipients will make some art for me on the blank card included and send it back my way. Some I know will, some I know won't. But it's a good excuse to touch base with those who have intersected lives with me in the last 40 year.

I have one card in my collection, so far. My daughter, Ganoush, made an ATC for me. I asked her sign it and she asked if she should sign "Ganoush" or her real name. Ah, these children live in a different world than the one in which I grew up (or just grew a little older).

My further intent is that I'll post some of my cards and some of the received cards in future entries here. Right now, my scanner and PC aren't communicating with one another.

If you know me and want to participate in the ATC 40 project, please leave a comment.

Add to the Drawing ~ 1

Quirky Nomads has forums again. Hooray!

Sage has an Add to the Drawing game. I added the purple robe/dress.



Ganoush wants to play, too, with sunshine and lace.

Journals

I found Creative Mom this week. Right up my alley. She asked about our personal journals.

What is your favorite journal?

My current one. Whichever it may be. Or my next one. Or the one with the story I need.

In 2005, I became more diligent about journaling.

I had a journal I had started on September 5, 2001. Though I had a few other books over the years, this is the real Volume 1. I found the book at Tuesday Morning store. Lovely autumn colors to go with my October birthday. At the time, I was running tests at work. Many were interactive, but some were not., I'd have five minutes of waiting before I needed to flip a switch or tally the results. I had time to start my new journal.

I tried to avoid resting my hand on the spiral binding by writing only on the right-hand pages. When I reached the back cover, I flipped the book upside down and wrote myself to the front again. It was nice to meet my old self on the return trip.

Eager to write, as a new book encourages, I wrote on Wednesday, Sept 5. Thursday, Sept 6. Monday, Sept 11. An ordinary day. I wrote about friends, I wrote about my son, just starting kindergarten. I wrote about a good pen.
Then I wrote on Sept 11. An extraordinary day. My cat was at the vet when the news broke. I wrote in snippets instead of full sentences. Absorbing the layers.

My commitment dwindled soon after. The book ends on July 25, 2005.

I moved into a journal that my husband bought for me from a trip to England and Scotland. Pages had art and quotes from Shakespeare, but I usually wrote around them, rather than about them. It has a corner pocket inside the front cover. That's handy.

During this time, I started studying the ideas about journaling. I re-skimmed The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I found Hannah Hinchman and Jim Arnosky and Gwen Diehn at the library. I found Danny Gregory on recommendation of Donavan Freberg (on his PG-13/R site). I found Lin at View from the Oak and Karen Winters on the Internet. I was ready to draw more often. I was itching to get done with the lined book and into a blank book. More space for drawing. Less pasting in my drawings done on side papers.

I have never met a Moleskine notebook in person. I like the Strathmore Sketch with recycled paper, 100 sheets, 5.5" x 8.5".

What does it look like?

I look forward to decorating each journal cover to reflect myself and my mood during that time.

For my first Sketchbook, I carefully unleashed the cover from the spiral and flipped it over. The screen-like texture is part of the cover. It is cardstock weight. The back cover is 1/8" cardboard. I started pulling items at hand. I'm fond of purple, so I started there. The gift wrap was from a gift for my mom. It fully says: "Party till the cows come home!" I flipped through my collection of page-a-day calendar pages and found the Mary Engelbreit home. I started stamping and collaging. I sewed the ribbon. I started to add glitter glue to just the upper bubble of the heart, but it smeared so I filled in the whole heart (paper-punched).

For my second decorated journal, I decide to just decorate and enhance the cover as it looked. I used glitter glue and pearly glue, Radiant Pearls, DecoColor markers, a rubber stamp of a dandelion seed using a silver ink pad. I added to it as I went, though the bulk was done at the beginning.

For my current journal, I started putting found stickers on the cover. Mostly, fruit stickers. I try no to have more than two of any kind. This is encouraging me to eat fruit more often and to try fruits I wouldn't usually look at, because I want the sticker. I'm still not fond of plums and I prefer canned peaches to fresh. Ganoush liked the kiwi if it was peeled. The non-fruit stickers are also found items. Usually the last sticker on a sheet, so lonely. The back cover has larger stickers (including one from Gonzo's new glow-in-the-dark Yoda shirt) and a copy of the concert schedule for my summer band.

The Pokemon Ruby sticker is from a used cartridge that Gonzo bought with His Own Money. He traded in an old game, but he still had to make up money to complete the transaction. I acquired the sticker when he chose to stick it to the outside of the car window. Not good.

I added the date tags to all of my journals when I started the current book. I bought a box of metal-rimmed circle tags at an office supply store. I designed each pair to compliment the cover. I made strings of different lengths, so the earlier date sits higher when the books are upright on the shelf, side by side. It adds fun and color and reference info. I don't knit or crochet but I like fun fibers. If it suits, I'll add other ephemera from strings, like my deflated balloon from my 39th birthday, when we went to Chuck E Cheese's. For the current book, I made tags with elements of nature that I like. I have the top of a blue feather on the start date and the bottom of the feather for the end. It also has a maple leaf and two lightning bugs / fireflies. Every tag is similar on both sides.

Where did you get it?

I buy them at Michael's Arts and Crafts store. I wait until they are on sale. I try to buy a few weeks ahead of completing the current book, but needed to go out the night before to get my current book.
I've looked at other books at Michael's but this one calls to me. I don't want perforations. I like recycling. This is a handy size: room to draw, easy to carry. I can print 2-up pages and they'll fit on a journal page.

What do you put in it?

• Newspaper clippings
• Personal observations and reflecting
• To-do lists, releasing mental fluff and clutter
• Minutes from meetings: church, Scouts, Scottish. I want all stuff in one system, organized chronologically.
• Sketches. I really like Crayola Watercolor Pencils. If only they had one in brown...
• Chronicle of the day's events.
  
• I'll make a glued pocket out of two pages now and then, to hold a map or a calendar or such.
• My kids will draw pictures in it for me when they are bored and can't go roaming. They don't realize how I will treasure their art in later years.
• It's been with me to visit my in-laws and my brother and on my trip to see a taping of the Red Green Show. I'll note times of travel, exit numbers, mileage, good places to stop.
  
• Sometimes I'll print one of my blog entries to put in my journal.
  
• Sometimes I'll print someone else's blog entry.
• I've tried Danny's suggestion to pre-color some pages, challenging me to work with or around what Me of the Past had put on that page.
• When I get to the last three or four pages, I'll start writing a table of contents, wrapping up the book, reviewing what I've writing and drawn, making it easier to find what I think I may want to find at a later time.

Remember to click on each photo to see it larger.

BALOO food

BALOO Training - teaching Cub Scout leaders how to lead a Pack's family campout.

My favorite part of the day was lunch. Outdoors. I forgot my camera, but had more fun making sketches anyway. I share the info with you; click for the big version. I do this to share and to reinforce my own learning. (There I go, homeschooling myself again.)

Notice the notes in the upper left corner. One Scout Leader told of the worst meal made on a campout. A patrol of young Scouts were making Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. (Box meals are allowed on the first few outings.) They somehow skipped over the instruction to drain and made mac & cheese soup.

We made and ate foil packet meals. They recommended starting with a cabbage leaf on the foil. Even if you toss the cabbage, it provides moisture, form, and support to the rest of the packet. Then the frozen patty and any frozen veggies you wish. Pineapple was also suggested for sweetness and moisture.

The instructor made Breakfast in an Orange. Slice an orange in two and scoop out the orange to eat now or later. In one rind hemisphere, crack and add an egg. In the other rind, add muffin mix that's been made in a food storage bag. Place both rinds side by side on a sheet of foil, wrap and cook.

She also made Meatloaf in an Orange. Pretty basic. Put a serving of meatloaf in a hollowed orange half and cap it with the other hollowed half. Wrap in foil, cook on coals.

Our desserts were chocolate cherry cake from a Dutch oven and some muffin/cake that was made in a box lined with foil. It wasn't a true solar oven, as it was raining that day. I missed the particulars, besides that the box was lined with foil (for reflecting) and the cake pan (lined with foil for easy clean-up) was elevated on three soda pop can weighted with water inside.

We also sampled Banana Boats. Peel open one sector of banana peel. Slice the banana lengthwise, but don't cut the bottom peel. Add marshmallows and chocolate chips to the banana cut. Wrap with foil and cook on coals.

Omelet in a Bag: put eggs and chopped veggies in a bag. Squeeze out the air and seal the bag. Label your bag (for all these recipes). Drop bag in pot of boiling water.

One leader brought Pie Irons, which make grilled sandwiches. Our fire drum was full of foil supper, so he placed his pie iron on the coals of the Dutch oven that was making the cake.

Last, we made some Bread on a Stick. The presenter said this was a big hit with her boys' troop. Get some dowels, cut to a good length from boy to fire. Wrap Biscuit In A Tube around the stick, either like a snake, or as a cap to fill with butter and jam. Hold the wrapped dough over the fire until it is cooked.

One other leader from my pack (vroom, vroom) went to training with me, but we were placed in separate groups. "Aha," said I. "So we can learn different stuff in our discussion groups and talk about it all the way back home in the car."
"I'm glad you understand," said the training leader with a smile.

Not that I was alone. As luck would have it (much like Ron's luck), I sat next to a high school acquaintance. Not a chum, but I knew who he was, he knew who I was. He told me that he recognized me at monthly leader meetings but couldn't place my name. Every month, he intended to look me up in the yearbooks but forgot by the time he got back home.

Red Hat Crafters

Back in January, my mom's Red Hat group (ladies over 50, not Linux folk, not that the two couldn't intersect) set their monthly outing plans for the year. April was my mom's month to plan and we came up with having a crafting day. We were inspired by a Red Hat scrapbooking book that I found at the library.

The idea evolved into decorating photo frames. It picked up support after I made a couple of samples so the ladies could wrap their brains around the idea.

Mom and I gathered supplies. We charged $10 per participant. Nine signed up, then three of them couldn't make it. But the other six had a great time. I base-coated a few frames for them to get started. One who was nervous about starting made two frames. Others brought more Foofy Doo-Dah to share. No one was on time at 9:00, but we were rolling by 9:45.

They had great ideas. They asked each other for help and ideas as much as they asked me. They were tickled when I reminded them that it was for themselves, not for a grade, not for a contest. If she liked it, then it was right.

I helped them make some bows, like the one in this first photo.

The one with the 6 and 4 is my birthday card for me my mom, who turned 64 this week. I wrote inside that I still need her and will still feed her, and gave her $3 worth of Dairy Queen gift certificates.

I taught them how to add a second layer to make an item pop when two pieces were too close in color, such a as the pink and lavender tissue papers on the tall purple frame. The words on the sticker weren't showing on just the lavender.

The partially hidden frame was my demo frame, made with Mod Podge glue and lots of collaging. Today's ladies were more interested in just using hot glue, which I agreed with. Quicker results. Notice that a few ladies took some of the larger papers and put them in the frames, either for now or for always.

Since the ladies were tending to themselves enough, I started crafting, too (which was my secret ulterior motive). I made frames for the ladies who had wished to come but were absent. I made the RED HOT frame for a lady born in Mexico. Thus the chili pepper. It was clear-red plastic, too dark on the purple, so I backed it with white. The paper cut-out hat had feathers, so I hot-glued on more and bigger feathers over them. This lady likes beadwork and makes her own jewelry. I left space for her to add more if she wishes.

In the Tall purple frame, the upper left corner has a piece of fabric that was "like a shawl." I told them that it was a shawl. When Ganoush and Skunk were four, they could not unknot a tassled scarf of mine, so they cut off the knot. Argh.

The center frame was another of mine, for a lady who loves to dress for holidays and often has glitter hair accents and glitter highlights on face, neck, and skin. I used sparkly papers and one lady's die-cut machine to make flowers, then added lots of glitter glue.

I also made the frame on the left. That recipient is much quieter in her style and lies Americana. I started the red frame for the Glitter Lady, but most of my papers were red-toned, so they needed a purple frame. I had already put the big sticker on the red frame, so I was able to add just a couple more quiet elements and call it done.

The Red Hat Ladies were so good, they were even careful to ask about which scraps were big enough to keep. And since they all helped clean up nicely and stuff my mom had sorted stayed sorted, I'll have an easier time putting all back into the basement (where I'm headed right after I post) and finding the stuff again next time.

Sketches and art

I've spent all of my computer turn learning about my new scanner and cropping them for the blog. I'll write the text tomorrow. Here are the pictures. Click any to see a larger version.

Sketches from my current journal.










Paint / collage from my 2005 Round Robin Art Journal. The beads were added by Cait. I don't know if she added the sax man or if someone else did.

Lego Cake / Checkers Cake

Our Cub Scout Pack has a cake auction every spring. In past years, we have made ordinary cakes and went wild with icing/frosting decoration.

This year, I wanted more of a themed cake. We went to a cool cake web site from Family Fun magazine (a product of Disney). Their Lego cake makes one large brick. CHG made 8x8 cakes for Gonzo and me. We each made a Lego cake with studs made from half-high large marshmallows. They compress a little when I log-roll them with the knife to bisect them. That helps with the spacing. The white studs didn't need extra frosting added. Tee hee hee.

Ganoush and I made the checkeboard cake, again not quite the one in the magazine. That's just for inspiration. She frosted the white, I laid out the lines with a bread knife andfilled in the squares with cookie crumbles. She added the marshmallow checkers.

(The round cake is by someone else; one of the nifty new ones that let you make a tunnel in the cake.)

We bought Ganoush's back at auction for $8.00 and Gonzo didn't desire any of the cakes. We will make a fresh Lego cake for his birthday party, when we schedule it. Other cakes included a castle, Ziggy, a bunny head, a treasure chest, and some very chocolate cakes. Seventeen cakes brought in $300 for the pack.

Glitz for Andrea

I finished my first journal of unlined paper and I started on my newest volume this week. It is also an unlined blank journal, allowing me to sketch or shape my words or glue in memorabilia and then write coments to go with it.

This time, I didn't cover over the actual journal cover with papers or lots of paint. The cover has been enhanced, glitzed up with sparkly stuff. I'll prolly keep adding to it in the next few months.

The largest red/blue/green/purple parts are a product called Radiant Pearls. I won them in a drawing a few years back at a local scrapbook store. I remembered to go back and check my ticket numbers (still stuffed in my coin purse) and I won a prize. I called back to the owner that I had a match. "Which one?" The top one. "Well, now. That's the grand prize." It was a large m&m's gift bag full of odds and ends of crafting. Things picked up at convention vendor booths. A 12 x 12 scrapbook album with a cover by Flavia, declaring Travels. Things I would not choose for myself, but I liked the challenge of working with what I was given.

I also used Crayola glitter glue, Crayola pearlescence glue, DecoColor markers, and some rubber stamps with pigment ink pads. Andrea will understand all of this. I also used an orange highlighter and Gonzo drew some squiggles with pencil. He learned how to draw the never-ending Cursive L trim.

Blo-pens. I hadn't thought yet to add a little with Blo-pens.

I think my favorite part is the turquoise around the pencil pointing to 8:30. It looks like some altered animation style.

Crow Head Again

Creativity, with photos

My answer to Ron about creativity is getting too long for a comment. I'll make it an entry.

Gonzo doesn't like the feel of the paste, but helped me set up the under-frame of the Bionicle mask, involving yogurt lids and cottage cheese lids.

Ganoush made her own masks as I made the boar's head. She thought she would make a unicorn mask for the program, but got distracted after it dried and didn't finish it.

We all watch Carol Duvall on HGTV and try some projects that catch the attention of someone. I like how we see the steps from start to finish. Planting seeds that will sprout later, making connections. CHG once noted that I'd prolly be good at polymer clay, but I really can't take on a new hobby.

I also made a darn good Crow Head (from MST3K).


My Crow Head, made for Gonzo's Halloween costume when he was four. I used fun foam, gold lame fabric, paper fasteners, a report fastener, a plastic Solo dessert plate to keep it on his head, inside the winter hat, felt, styrofoam balls, gold chnille stems, rubber bands (that erond and require replacing), staples, and a Pringles can.


I bemoan the fact that I goofed and made Crow's eyes white instead of yellow. CHG says to get over it.


The "real" Crow T. Robot from Mystery Science Theatre 3000

The Boar's Head

Our church's Christmas program this year was a Madrigal. Elizabethan songs and fancy gowns and herald trumpets and such. We had a potluck afterwards, but it wasn't an Authentic Madrigal Dinner.
Two years ago, the choir director asked me to make a papier mache boar's head for her, for that year's show. She used pink Styrofoam to carve a form and asked me to papier mache it. The paper didn't adhere well and the whole project didn't work at all. This year, I was eager to redeem myself in my own eyes. She was really pleased when she saw it. :)

Curious readers can click on each image to see more detail.


The interior is made from plastic milk jugs, duct tape, and leftover paper scraps. The ears are cut from a milk jug bottom to get a natural curve.


The bottom teeth are pipe cleaners (oops, that's not proper nowadays. Chenille Stems), wrapped in paper. This allows me to tweak the bends in the teeth as the first layer dries.
The top teeth are cardboard.


Wrapped in paper, ready for the first layer of papier mache. This site helped me a lot in getting the right shapes. What did we do for research before Google Images?


Upside down and covered in printed newspaper. The fan on the left helps the form dry quicker.


A tennis ball can is holding the mouth open enough that I can put a real apple in there later.


Afterit is after the second coat, this time using unprinted newsprint. The brown blobs are there because I make the paste from a bag of whole wheat flour that passed its Used By date.

I found my recipe here when I needed to do papier mache with my Cub Scouts. As it turned out, after a few practice masks, I haven't done a project yet with the Cubs, but I made a cool Bionicle Matau (Toa of Air) mask for Gonzo.
The eye is made of glow-in-the-dark beads on wire.


Painting the first coat. I looked too light to me and to the director, but Ganoush preferred this color. I'm using tempera paints because that's what I had.


Dressed and ready for the show.

I've been tagged

La Maitresse tagged me to join in the latest book meme. This one seems simple - say 15 things about books. Here goes...

1. I like books. Lots of books.

2. I prefer non-fiction to fiction because there is so much stuff to learn about. But I liked the short stories in Good Housekeeping magazine.

3. My favorite book is The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. Raskin wrote cool books. My dad once overheard my sixth grade teacher speaking to another teacher about me. Teacher said, "I have two students reading Ellen Raskin books right now, but only Heidi is weird enough to appreciate it." She didn't know that the man standing there was my dad. We took pride in her comment.

4. My next favorite book is How to Become King by Jan Terlouw. It is a Dutch book, translated to English. It is out of print and used copies cost around $40. I see know it is similar to the labors of Hercules.

5. The first word I could read was FREE. It was on a sign we passed often while traveling through downtown. "FREE car wash with tank of gasoline." My dad said that if the only other word I learned to read was Restroom, then I would do okay.

6. In college, I took a photography class the same quarter that I took Intro to Children's Literature (Kiddie Lit). I also took Russian History and Differential Equations that term. I was able to combine Photography and Kiddie Lit by photographing how to bind a small book (Step-by-step assignment) and then gluing the photos into the blank book and writing the explanation (write a book assignment).

7. I also wrote one Russian class paper on American Kiddie Lit concerning Russia over the years, the idea being that how children perceived Russia/the USSR would be determined by what they read as much as what they heard from adults around them.

8. Pre-homework for the class was to read the huge, real (non-textbook) Nicholas and Alexandria by Robert K. Massie, which I read all during our college band bus tour to NYC.

9. I never read Goodnight Moon until I was a mom.

10. Since both of my kids now have a library card of their own, we can check out a total of 180 books combined at any one time. CHG's card is his own.

11. In second grade, if the teacher liked your story, she would have it typed onto sheets of onion paper and you were allowed to illustrate the pages and then she had a book made. Kids could have the book put into the school library. It was returned to me when I went up to seventh grade. A few kids other than me had also checked it out. It was called "My Trip to Marsasip." (MAR-suh-sip) It was going to be My Trip to Mars, then My Trip to the Sun, but I changed it. The planets surface kept changing colors. It was a feature, not a bug, so I didn't have to remember what to draw from page to page. (See photos below.)

12. My answer to many situations are to go read a book. Got engaged? Go to the library, get some books. Expecting a baby? Go to the library, read some books. All those research papers rubbed off on me. And juvenile non-fiction is the best. Lots of pictures, clear text, basic examples. If you want to know about the Civil War or Origami or John Muir, go to kid nonfiction.

13. My dad has nearly every National Geographic Magazine ever published, starting with his dad's collection. I don't know what we will do with it when he no longer needs it. I think all of it is now available on CD-ROM. But I had a great time writing about John Muir in sixth grade and have a cite in my bibliography from a 1888 magazine.

14. I wanted to write that bio paper on Jacques Cousteau, but we couldn't find any books about him. In 1979? How weird was that? My teacher said that one article in TV Guide wasn't enough and I switched to John Muir.

15. I am currently reading The Decorated Journal by Gwen Diehr.

I'll tag Todd & Sage. I don't know if Sage does memes. I know she likes books.



Cover. A fabric from home that articulated the terrain of Marsasip.


My bedroom really did have 10" wide red/white/blue stripes on one wall.


Black oranges just sounded cool.


These were not all from just me and my brother.