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

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This month, my “Try This” posts are going to highlight some things you can do with thrift store finds. 

One of my favorite things to do is just paint what I find.

The first step is to clean the piece(s) and apply primer.

Primer comes in different colors.  I use white if I’m using light paint colors and grey if I’m using mid or dark paint colors.

I love Martha Stewart High Gloss paints.  They have a thick consistency and offer good coverage.

I painted this set in sea glass colors.

I painted this set in fun bright colors.

Daily Inspiration 

Don’t find fault.  Find a remedy.

Henry Ford

About the photo (taken August 8) …I admit it; I love to learn, and I have a weakness for “self-help” books.

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Zonda & Amy

Every Tuesday in 2011, I did a blog post entitled “4 Faves” where I told you about 4 of my favorite things.  When I changed my posting line-up for 2012 and dropped 4 Faves, my friend Amy was devastated.  So, in honor of my friend, I’m declaring August “Amy’s Faves” month.  Here are some of my buddy’s favorite things:

 

The Lily Pad Lid

This clever (and lovely) kitchenware item is from Charles Viancin.  Made of FDA approved silicone, it is safe for the oven, microwave, freezer and dishwasher.  It has venting holes in the “flower” handle.  Amy likes it because it’s a quick and easy universal lid that creates an airtight seal.  She also likes it for covering food outside…no bugs.  It comes in 3 sizes, and if lily pads aren’t your thing, they also offer a sunflower.  This is cool.

 

Shakeology

Amy credits Shakeology (and a little hardwork and willpower) with helping to shed those last stubborn 10 pounds.  Shakeology shakes include pro-biotics , five servings of vegetables and spirulina, a super antioxidant.  It has a low glycemic index so you don’t crash.  Chocolate vegan is Amy’s favorite.  She mixes it with ice and almond milk.  Amy has had such success with Shakeology, that she is an Independent Team Beachbody Coach.  Check out her website for more information or to contact her if you have any questions.  If you want proof that it works, checkout Amy’s pants in the picture above.  Amy, you need new pants.

 

Stainless Steel Straws

The first thing Amy said when she showed these to me was, “I wish you still did 4 Faves.”  Amy loves them because they are environmentally-friendly and you can stir your shake (or margarita; Amy’s example, not mine) with them.  Amy ordered them from Open Sky.  $20 for 4 long, 4 short and a cleaning brush.

 

Lemon Balm Salve

Amy swears this has kept her from getting cold sores for six months.  She heard about it on Dr. Oz.  Other bonuses…it smells delicious, heals chapped lips, and is good for cuts, bug bites and burns.  This balm is from WiseWay Herbals.

Daily Inspiration

 

Since there is nothing so well worth having as friends, never lose a chance to make them.

Francesco Guicciardini

About the photo (taken August 6) …I’ve had this sunflower floral arrangement for over 10 years.  Every summer, I bring it out, and I never grow tired of it.  It’s just so happy.

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Here’s what’s been happening in my studio this past week:

I finished this little needle felted owl for my August 1 “Try This” post.

I worked on some other things this week, but they are all for future posts…so they’re a secret (for now).

I’ll repeat this information about The August Break 2012, every Monday in August. 

During August, I’m participating in The August Break 2012 that is sponsored by Susannah Conway.  Here’s what The August Break 2012 is all about:

How it works: you simply share one photo (or more!) each day on your blog – Monday to Friday, or every day. Or whenever you feel moved to share. Using any camera – DSLR, compact, Polaroid, Holga, iPhone (my choice), Instax, film or digital – with or without words – anything goes! – for the whole of August. No pressure – just looking at August through your camera lens as a way to be more present this summer. And to have a little break from the pressures and expectations of regular blogging.

There are NO RULES, people! Just sunshine (hopefully) + a bit of fun. And lots of lovely photos to look at and new blogs to discover.

I use photos I’ve taken every day for my “Daily Inspiration” segment, but they are not always taken that day or that week.  To challenge myself for The August Break 2012, all my “Daily Inspiration” photos for August will be taken within a day or two of when they appear.  I’ll also include a line or two about the photograph.

Daily Inspiration

 

Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and new in your work.

Gustave Flaubert

About the photo (taken August 6) …I work with abandon, but then I need to stop and reorder my work space.  It’s time to stop.

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One of my “goals” this year is to clean-out all my closets.  This closet doesn’t need much more than a little tidying up.  What really needs work is behind the camera lens…my studio.  Let’s start with the closet and maybe that will motivate me to take care of my messy studio. 

Left Side

Right Side 

Daily Inspiration

It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it.

John Steinbeck 

About the photo (taken on August 5)…Sometimes, I like to get on the floor and take pictures of the pups from different angles.  This is Freedom and her cute front teeth.

On Sundays, I’m going to participate in Black & White Sunday, a blog hop hosted by You Did What With Your Weiner, My Life in Blog Years and Dachshund Nola.  Check out the list below for more photos…

 

 

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Photo Source

My daughter is taking a class on Martin Scorsese movies.  I told her I would follow along because we like to discuss movies.  Here is a list of Martin Scorsese movies.  The titles in red are the movies I haven’t seen.  Do you have a favorite Martin Scorses movie?

1968 – Who’s That Knocking at My Door

1972 – Boxcar Bertha

1973 – Mean Streets

1974 – Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

1976 – Taxi Driver

1977 – New York, New York

1980 – Raging Bull

1983 – The King of Comedy

1985 – After Hours

1986 – The Color of Money

1988 – The Last Temptation of Christ

1990 – Goodfellas

1991 – Cape Fear

1993 – The Age of Innocence

1995 – Casino

1997 – Kundun

2002 – Gangs of New York

2004 – The Aviator

2006 – The Departed

2010 – Shutter Island

2011 – Hugo

Daily Inspiration

 

Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.  Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

Langston Hughes

About the photo (taken on August 4)…We had a storm roll through this evening.  This is the light, after the storm.

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Currently, I’m taking two Artful Gathering classes.  I’m starting with Mixed Devotions by Cristina Zinnia Galliher.  We’re making 3 bottles, and I’m starting with the Far East Laughing Buddha Art Bottle.

Last week, I added the base layers to my bottle…tissue paper, pieces of book paper and cheesecloth.

This week, I painted my bottle.  I used several colors…avocado green, ivory, burnt umber, golden bronze, warm grey and quinacridone nickel azo gold.

The paint is added as you like.  You can see how I “squiggled” it on.  The base texture adds a lot of the interest.

Here’s one side…

and the other side.

Daily Inspiration

 

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

Henry James

About the photo (taken on August 3)…This is a view of our backyard and my husband’s pride and joy, his Weber grill.  A lot of good food has come off this grill and many happy memories with friends.

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Back in May, I ran a series of five questions that were meant to get you (and me) thinking about memorabilia and hopefully identifying some of the special treasures.  When I originally posted these questions, I didn’t answer them, but now I am.  Here’s the first question:

If I died today, what 5 things would you want to keep to remember me by and why?

I asked my daughter this question and here’s what she picked:

1.  Matryoshka Doll

I started collecting Matryoshka dolls for my daughter when she was a young girl.  Her (our) collection is small, but we’ve got some real beauties.  This is the one she would choose because it is the most intricately painted.  She’s really glad she gets to keep them all.

2.  Photograph

Not this picture…this was the runner-up.  The picture that she would keep, she already has.  It’s a snapshot of my face, and I’m laughing really hard.  It’s how she see me.  This picture was the runner-up because I made her sit still and smile while those precious little bunnies were biting her.  We joke that she was made to pose for this picture while the bunnies ate her alive.  If nothing else, I provided my daughter with precious childhood memories.

3.  Frog Bookends

I’ve collected frogs all my life.  If she had to pick one thing, she would pick these bookends because she remembers them being around the house all her life.

4.  Knitted Owl Sweater & Skirt Set

This is a special item from both me and my mother.  Believe it or not, this was my mom’s first knitting project.  She wanted to learn to knit, so she had a friend teach her.  She made me this sweater and skirt set.

I wore the ensemble for my kindergarten Christmas party.  This is a picture of me and my kindergarten teacher. 

My hands are all twisted funny because I was nervous (and excited) about getting to stand so close to my beautiful, young kindergarten teacher, whom I was deeply in love with.

5.  My Favorite/First Painting

My daughter picked this painting because it’s my first and favorite, and she loves this period of my life…so do I.

Daily Inspiration

 

 I travel a lot; I hate to have my life disrupted by routine.

Caskie Stinnett

About the photo (taken on July 30)…This is another photo I took on my way down to visit my daughter at Purdue University.  This is Bethlehem Presbyterian Church just outside of Metea, Indiana, and one of the most beautiful country churches I’ve ever seen.  The photo above is taken from the westside.  If you’d like to see how the church looks from the road, you can look at the Daily Inspiration photo on April 24.  Before my daughter leaves West Lafayette, Indiana, I plan to go to a Sunday service.

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Did you guess what this was going to be?  It’s an owl.

During the month of July, my “Try This” posts have featured kits.  Last week, I didn’t get my project finished, so this week I’m wrapping it up.

I don’t know if there are many things cuter than needle felted figures.  This kit is from Dimensions.

The kit includes molds, stencils, wool roving, a felting needle and pad and instructions.

The first step is to make the body.  This is done with the body stencil and the body mold.

You use the body stencil to get the basic shape and the body mold to get a perfectly formed body.

 

Stencils are also used to create the wings, feet and tail.

The two body sections are felted together.

The face and tummy felt is applied, along with the the wings and tail.

Other details are added…

and you’re done!  To me, needle felting isn’t difficult, but it is time consuming.  If you’d like to give needle felting a try but don’t know where to start, I’d highly recommend one of these kits.

Daily Inspiration

 

If one could make alive again for other people some cobwebbed skein of old dead intrigues and breathe breath and character into dead names and stiff portraits.  That is history to me!

George Macaulay Trevelyan

About the photo (taken July 30)…This old farmhouse sits just outside Fulton, Indiana, on State Road 25.  I pass it on my way to visit my daughter at Purdue University.  Situated on a rise with farm fields all around, it’s been for sale since she started at Purdue three years ago.  If I had a money tree, I’d buy this old beauty, fix it up and live peacefully and quietly in the country.

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If I had to pick only one old-time favorite television show, it would have to be I Love Lucy.  The show ran from October 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957.  I’ve seen every episode many times, but I never grow tired of them.  Here are some I Love Lucy fun facts:

1.  Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s characters’ names were originally supposed to be Lucy and Larry Lopez.

2.  Lucy Ricardo’s middle name was Esmeralda.  Ethel Mertz had three middle names during the show, Mae, Roberta and Louise.

3. Vivian Vance was only one year older than Lucille Ball. Part of her contract said that she had to stay at least twenty pounds over-weight so she would look much older than Lucy.

4. William Frawley and Vivian Vance had an adversarial relationship during the entire run of the show, but they remained professional in their performances and always had great on-air chemistry.

5.  “Little Ricky” was born on TV the same night that the real Desi Arnaz, Jr. was born (January 19, 1953).

What’s your favorite old-time show?

Daily Inspiration

 

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Here’s what’s happening in my studio…

My “Try This” posts for July have all been kits.  I didn’t finish my final kit last week, but I’ll have it ready for this Wednesday, August 1.  Above is a little peek.

Session 2 of Artful Gathering has begun.  I’m taking two classes.  I started working on one of the projects for Mixed Devotions with Cristina Zinnia Galliher.  This is my painted bottle.

Remember my crocheted potholder?  Be sure to check out all the Blogville Ladies Crochet Society members’ potholders over a Dip-Dip and The Bridge.  August’s project is an Amigurumi Beach Pebble.  Join us!

During August, I’m participating in The August Break 2012 that is sponsored by Susannah Conway.  Here’s what The August Break 2012 is all about:

How it works: you simply share one photo (or more!) each day on your blog – Monday to Friday, or every day. Or whenever you feel moved to share. Using any camera – DSLR, compact, Polaroid, Holga, iPhone (my choice), Instax, film or digital – with or without words – anything goes! – for the whole of August. No pressure – just looking at August through your camera lens as a way to be more present this summer. And to have a little break from the pressures and expectations of regular blogging.

There are NO RULES, people! Just sunshine (hopefully) + a bit of fun. And lots of lovely photos to look at and new blogs to discover.

I use photos I’ve taken every day for my “Daily Inspiration” segment, but they are not always taken that day or that week.  To challenge myself for The August Break 2012, all my “Daily Inspiration” photos for August will be taken within a day or two of when they appear.  I’ll also include a line or two about the photograph.

Daily Inspiration

 

Inspirations never go in for long engagements; they demand immediate marriage to action.

Brendan Francis