Creativity, Crafts, Books, Movies, Greyhounds & Favorite Things

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Here’s what’s been going on this past week…

September’s “Try This” posts will feature step-by-step background canvases.  Then, in the future, I’ll paint girls on them.

Slowly, slowly I’m finishing up the Mixed Devotions class by Cristina Zinnia Galliher.  This week, I painted the Interpretive Bottle.

Yesterday, I went to Art On The Wabash 2012 in West Lafayette, Indiana.  If you are a regular reader of What Remains Now, you were probably SHOCKED that I didn’t mention buying anything.  You know I bought something.

 

I bought this horse hair pottery flower sconce by Coal Creek Clay.  I wasn’t familiar with horse hair pottery.  Here’s what it is (from a card included with my sconce):

This unique application begins with a piece of clay.  Once dry, it is glazed and burnished.  Then, it is fired up to 1800 degrees.  Once it is removed from the kiln, strands of horse hair are burnt into the pottery using a blow torch.  Each handcrafted piece of pottery is a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

 

And, these lovely cards from Becky Chapman Design.

I also bought my daughter a painting for her apartment from Mitchell Austin Schuring.  Mitchell doesn’t have a website, but he does have a Twitter and Instagram account (@doenome).  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture.  I’ll get one for a future post.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could just buy everything you wanted?  If my money tree had been producing more money, I would have purchased necklaces by EB Bead and Metal Works and Deborah Waymire, and a cute little pottery piggy bank by Angi Peterson Pottery.  This is just the short-list…sigh.

Daily Inspiration

 Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.

Judy Garland

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Today, I drove to West Lafayette, Indiana to visit my daughter and future son-in-law. 

 

We went to Art On The Wabash 2012.

It was held at Tapawingo Park…

on the Wabash Riverfront.

There were 34 awesome artists displaying their art…pottery, jewelry, glass, sculpture, mixed-media, watercolor, woodwork, clothing, metalwork and more.

A special treat…my daughter and I got our first henna tattoos from The Henna Dude.

Henna tattoos last anywhere from a day to 3 weeks, depending on your skin-type and where the tattoo is applied.

Isn’t it pretty?

This was a dog-friendly event…

 

and there were many four-leggers in attendance.

It was a lovely day.

Daily Inspiration

The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.

Aristotle

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This list comes from the October 2012 O Magazine...How To Make The Most Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie.  These tips come from Alton Brown, the host of The Next Iron Chef.  I don’t bake often, but the next time I make chocolate chip cookies, I’m going to give these tips a try.

1.  Include dark, milk, and semisweet chocolate.  Otherwise you’ll hit the same flavor notes with every bite, and your palate will get bored.

2.  For a chewier cookie, try baking with bread flour instead of all-purpose flour.

3.  Use room-temperature eggs.  Cold eggs are hard to work into a batter.

4.  Never bake the dough immediately.  Instead, scoop it onto cookie sheets and refrigerate.

5.  Before you bake, toss the dough in sugar, which will caramelize into a sweet-smelling, crispy crust.

Daily Inspiration

 

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This summer, I took three Artful Gathering classes.  I ordered the DVD for the Mixed Devotions class by Cristina Zinnia Galliher because the classes are over.  I’ll probably get the DVD this coming week, but in the meantime, I painted the Interpretive Bottle.

 

I used these colors…avocado green, burnt umber, golden bronze, warm grey, phthalo turquoise and quinacridone nickel azo gold.

Daily Inspiration

 

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Last week, I wrote down the things that prevent me from resolving my photo mess.  The issue that really stuck out to me was, “I don’t have a clear vision of what I want in the end.”  So, I spent the week thinking about that.  Here’s what I want:

1.  All of my photos upstairs.  No photos in boxes in the basement.

2.  My photos organized in categories in photo boxes.

3.  Identify photos I’d like to frame/display.  Put them in a separate box.

4.  Stop thinking about photo albums.  Just get the photos in photo boxes.

That’s all I’m going to think about for now.  I hope this makes the project a little less HUGE in my mind.

Daily Inspiration

 

The shortest answer is doing.

Lord Herbert 

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This month, I’m preparing some backgrounds because I want to paint more of the girls I learned to paint in Juliette Crane’s How To Paint A Girl e-course.

This week’s background was a little experiment.  All the paints I used are Martha Stewart Crafts Satin Acrylics.

I painted the background Blue Calico.

After that coat of paint dried, I painted over it with Tartan Red.  Using stamps, I pushed into the wet paint to reveal the blue paint underneath.

This didn’t give me the effect I was looking for.  When I try this again, I will use something with more substance, like a sponge.

To get more blue into the background, I wadded up a piece of aluminum foil, applied some blue paint and dabbed it on to the canvas.

It’s a simple background, but I think it will work.  I may add more color once I get a girl painted on it.

Daily Inspiration

 

Labor gives birth to ideas.

Jim Rohn 

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I love products that promote nice smells.  Here are a few of my favorites…

Don Aslett X-O Odor Neutralizer

This is my favorite odor neutralizer.  Twinkie is very good about using her litter box, but one day I shut her in our bedroom and, being a lady of a certain age, I understand that she couldn’t hold it.  I treated the area with this product, and I couldn’t smell it after it dried.  I also use it on the dog beds and after cooking anything stinky.  I purchase this from QVC and one 32 oz. concentrate makes 32 more 8 oz. bottles.

method Brand Products

 I like the whole line of method products.  They have great smells, they’re eco-friendly, the products work and the bottles are stylish.

 

Poo-Pourri

This is a funny little product, but it works.  You spray this in the toilet bowl before you poo, then the poo does not smell.  It works by creating a protective barrier on the water’s surface.  The barrier keeps unpleasant odors from coming into contact with the air.

Daily Inspiration

 

Sometimes we must unfocus our way to clarity.

Terri Guillemets

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Here’s what I’ve been working on in my studio…

 

September’s “Try This” posts will feature background canvases.  I’ll show step-by-step how I create a background canvas.  Then, in the future, I’ll paint girls on them.

Last week, I finished my art doll.  Now, I’m back to my Mixed Devotions bottles.  Both of these projects come from Artful Gathering classes I took this summer.

One of my card clubs got together on Friday night, and we made two Halloween cards.

A frightening kitty card…

 

and a jar of eyeballs card.  All the supplies for these cards are from Stampin’ Up!

Each month, I’m making a yarn vase for the 2012 Creative Color Challenge.  The color palette for August was Rainbow Of Color.

 

Daily Inspiration

 

We should be taught not to wait for inspiration to start a thing.  Action always generates inspiration.  Inspiration seldom generates action.

Frank Tibolt

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Last year, when I was asking friends for their “favorite things,” my friend, Amy, told me about The Chocolate Garden.  I  told her that before I could put it on my blog, I would need to check it out for myself.  That’s the kind of person I am.  I would never allow a chocolate recommendation without checking it out first.  So, last Saturday, Amy took me to check them out.

The Chocolate Garden was started by Tina Buck.  When she was working as an advertising executive, Tina developed and made truffles for clients and colleagues.  Time and time again, she was complimented on the quality and uniqueness of her truffles.

After a time, she left corporate life and opened The Chocolate Garden, just outside of Coloma, Michigan.

The store is very pretty, and the sales associates are very knowledgeable and fun.

Amy modeling chocolate

I must say…YUM-MEE!

Don’t know what to buy…you can get a sample of 3 different flavors for a small charge.

Any day that involves a chocolate garden, truffles, friends and greyhounds is a good day to me.

After The Chocolate Garden, we stopped at this cute ice cream parlor/fruit stand.  We didn’t have ice cream because we hadn’t eaten dinner yet.  Amy…You owe me ice cream next time we come for a visit.  I can’t keep this extra 20 pounds on me by skipping the ice cream.

Daily Inspiration

 

A good snapshot stops a moment from running away.

Eudora Welty 

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This list is from A. W. Tozer (1897-1963).  I love little lists like this.  They keep me thinking.

When Something Right Can Go Wrong

When in our determination to be bold we come brazen

When in our desire to be frank we become rude

When in our effort to be watchful we become suspicious

When we seek to be serious and become somber

When we mean to be conscientious and become overscrupulous.

Daily Inspiration

 

Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance.

Will Durant