It's hip to be not square...

I love this page. I had seen an old painting at an antique store (on the day I bought that mirror) that was turned on its side.

That design idea had stayed with me for a while and ended up being this page. The pictures were taken on a warm day in January. They were take on the timer and I think I was taking 5 shots in ten seconds. The rest was left over letters that I embossed and a sheet of patterned paper that lent itself well to the look. A bit of glitter and there you have it. 

Sure it won't look as great in an album, but I did design it so it could be read turned square. It does look fabulous hanging in the entry way though!

A sneak peek

We are busily working on getting the garden blog ready for consumption. In the mean time we are also busily working on that garden.

This weekend we built a greenhouse. It is 7x9 feet, which I am pretty certain is larger than a studio apartment I once had (love that apartment). I will only post teaser pictures, because the garden blog will have all the instructions and other information. Be assured that this was an easy project and not that expensive. It is also scalable, so it can be smaller or larger depending on your situation.

And I am fully aware of how messy that yard is. I am working on it.
Blessings

A Quick Craft

This is a mirror that I picked up for a couple of dollars at a local antique store. It is made form that rough sort of cement-y stuff and while it is a great color for the yard (particularly the rock garden) it certainly is bland. I have buckets of glitter and glitter glue, as you can imagine, and found that with a couple of coats you can dress up about anything. 

Seal it with some sort of acrylic sealent and there you be. A quick and very inexpensive addition to match your place. Thrift stores and garage sales will always have something that you can make fit.

I am off to back some banana bread, and maybe some caramal candies, and to sew up a tote. And if the weather holds to photograph the yard for the new blog. That is right, we are doing a new blog. Our Newbie Garden is not quite ready for you yet. But give us a bit of time. The before pictures will be up soon and I look forward to sharing that with you too!

Also, feel free to check out my other blog Urban Tao. It is spiritual in purpose, but not religious. 

Now, have a fantastic weekend

Preparation clears the way

As in, when I can't think of which new project to start or what I want to do next, I prepare. I put glitter on flowers that will get used eventually, I paint chipboard in at least a base coat, I make fabric buttons. The key is to get in that studio and make something. It doesn't need a home or a specific place just yet. It does mean that when I am ready to work, I have supplies. I don't need to wait for anything to dry. At the very worst of a bit of creative block, it can unblock you and get you working on bigger projects.

 This sweet little card is made from left over stickers. Almost entirely. I just made a vellum sun and coated it in glitter. Update old supplies by add and/or subtracting something from them. Take the supply and put it into a new context.

So much to post...

Oh, let's see... I made three scrappages, and a couple of cards this weekend. We tore up the ivy that made me crazy all of last year. Hoping to put in berries there at some point this spring. We bought supplies for the greenhouse and cleaned up the work area. In writing it appears to be a much more productive weekend than it felt. I wanted to play with making candies. Instead, I played with glitter. Which is just fine with me.

This page is just simple, simple, simple. Left over rick-rack and hem tape (can you have too much of either in your stash?), some of my awesome buttons and ancient letters from a tacky letter pack. I am enjoying the self-imposed challenge of using all my old stuff. For me, it has pushed me into a place that is more in tune with how I live the rest of my life. I make due with what I have, and I recycle and reuse as much as possible. But in scrapping, I find myself buying even when I don't need too. By not allowing purchases, I am forcing myself to use things that have sat in drawers for years (not even kidding). The results are simple, timeless, and very me. Feels very good!

Portland is always a good time.

So much so that we plan on moving there some time in the future. But for now we settle for trips up when we can. This past weekend we headed up and hit the Portland Art Museum, the Paradox cafe, and VegeThai. 

 I have to say that the exhibit "Safety in Numbers; Images of African American Identity and Community" was fantastic. As my major was museum studies, I always critique how an exhibit is done. Sometimes, I even care what it has to say (joking). This was well laid out and made lovely sense. The story it told was powerful.

The girls enjoyed the food. And Mo made a dinosaur out of tinfoil. We have decided that the dinosaur should have his own story told in pictures. This, however, should be her project, and because she is 13, it won't happen.

And again with the cards

This fun western card is made from scraps of paper from another project, an ancient sticker and a fabric covered button. Can't have too many fabric covered buttons.

I have several things that just need photos taken of them and then I will swamp you with fun stuff.