Back In The Day

Today I emptied out a box from storage that had oodles of crafting stuff. Postoids that I'd made when I lived in San Luis Obispo. Broken and unbroken jewelry waiting to be repurposed. Rubber stamps and stationary and cards. I never meant for that stuff to be in storage for 14 years. I'm relieved to have it back. I sorted through it and threw away old make-up and worthless paperwork. I brought in the jewelry for a closer inspection. I put all the books and tarot cards on the bookshelves in the house. I have many pieces of ephemera to use in art journals now. And a lot of photos I want to scan and share in my blog and on Facebook of my earlier performing days. And things I want to frame, like the best mail art I received from pen pals before email existed. It's all so emotional and nostalgic.

Postoids made of hand-carved stamps. They are faux postage for gluing onto envelopes.

Mermaid Ring

Library Day

I've decided library days are a pretty good idea. I thought I'd get bored but I relish the chance to pick out a big clean table and sprawl.  The time just flies by.

So yesterday I escaped the heat at the library. After doing some reading, I went back to the kid's area because that room has the best light and the best work table. And today I was almost the only one in the area. I discovered the cartoon drawing books and I was in heaven. In fact once I got the arms sewn on the witch doll, I spent the rest of the time looking through the drawing books and came home with 5 or 6 of them.

So today I got some drawing done. If I live long enough, someday I'll be good at drawing. I just know it.

Library Day

Today was library day. I found a thick book called 100 Years of Fashion Illustration. I am getting lots of ideas from it so I'm declaring this week my personal 'Fashion Illustration Week." I took fashion illustration in college but got pneumonia partway through and had to drop out. I've always wanted to revisit it.

I also checked out Linda Barker's Home-made Style (100 great decorating ideas), the Simple Art of Japanese Papercrafts by Mari Ono, and Picture Your World in Applique by Margaret Cusack.  Those should keep me busy for awhile.

Then we went to Joann's and I got more craft paint and some origami paper for the Japanese Papercrafts book so I could try out some of the ideas.

More Craft Books and Fabric.

Here is what I bought at the Medieval Marketplace yesterday. The stretch velvet fabric was $15 and is 60"wide and at least 3 yards long. The bigger books were $5. each and the rest were $1. each. My total was $30.

Make a Booklet

It's 3 AM. Ack! And I just found a cool DIY site that I'm too tired to read. So I'm putting it here so we can all read it in the morning. Making a booklet.

Atlatl Carving

Yesterday I hit the jackpot at Art Supply Warehouse. They had many books on clearance ranging from .99 to $4.99.  I bought 20 books for just over $50. That's about $2.60 per book.  They are on wood carving, beadwork, sewing, and drawing.

Today I worked on the goddess atlatl I'm carving.  I got to use my new scraper tools and it's finally looking like I could finish the thing. We are going to see Chris at his art studio tomorrow, so that inspired me to work on my atlatl.  He makes beautiful and functional atlatls.  His art community is having an open house and potluck tomorrow so we are going to drive down there.  It's near San Diego, CA.  Looking forward to it.
Chris can be found at: http://paleoarts.net/

Day of Crafts

Saturday was a craft filled day. I got a book on Fair Isle Knitting and started making a hat out of it just for practice. I didn't have the right size needles handy to follow the pattern, but since I'm just learning a technique I made it with what I had on hand. Sometimes learning the skill is more important than the finished product.

The other book I got was on making stuffed animals.  That's going to be a lot of fun to do. Mostly I want to make the dachshund because my daughter loves dachshunds.

Then I got to try out my new needle punch set. It works like a dream. I've very pleased with it. The ergonomic design is easier on my hands, meaning I can go longer without breaks. Right now I'm working on a horse silhouette against a stained glass style background. While I'm working on one project I get ideas for so many more that I can do.

Altered Books

In a moment of serendipity at the library yesterday, I not only found an incredible book on Altered Books, It's called Altered Book Collage by Barbara Matthiessen ISBN 1-4027-1410-6. I also found the library sells used hardcover books for .50.  So I was able to pick up 10 books.  Eight will be turned into altered books, one was on Ghost Towns so I'm keeping it, and the other was in an Asian language, so I'm tearing out the pages to use in collages. All these books were meant for the discard pile, and who knows how long they've been sitting in the 'old books for sale' section. I'm guessing the popular books get snapped up right away and others just sit and sit.

I'm going to read all the books first, if I can, just in case.

Sweatshirts and Jewelry

We got two books today but I only get to keep one of them. The 'turn a sweatshirt into a quilted jacket' book is for my boyfriend's mom. I think it's going to be a great reference for her. It looks like it's pretty easy to follow with good directions. She's been wanting to make a quilted sweatshirt for a while now.

The jewelry book is for me. I bought it sight unseen from Amazon and it's a lot nicer than I expected. I think I will get a lot of use out of it. It will take my jewelry in a whole new direction. The photographs are excellent and there are a lot of expert tips to make things easier to understand.

I Love My Library

I went to return my books today and found some more craft books to bring home. I got a good one on collage and some on knitting. I read some at the library too, but didn't want to bring too many home. I find at times I absorb enough just by flipping through the books. Others have more complicated techniques so I need to bring them home for a closer look.
With the price of books these days don't forget to check your library before buying. That way you know exactly what is in the book if you decide to order it.

Yay it's Saturday.

I woke up to a beautiful Saturday in S. California this morning. We may go do archery at the range in Pasadena later.

I got some more craft books at the library two days ago. I will never lack for inspiration. Have you been to your local library lately? There is just no way I could buy every book I want, so I have cards for 3 libraries.

One of the books has wonderful cross-stitch designs and it reminded me of all the cross-stitch projects I set aside so I could take my trip. I need to get back in the habit of working on those. I even bought some more embroidery floss in San Luis Obispo, more aida cloth and 3 new hoops, but didn't have time to work on it while I was up there.

And I need to make a beaded necklace for my partner's mother. She's been patiently waiting for it and I've been dragging my feet.

I re-listed some paintings in my Etsy shop yesterday because I keep running into painters on Etsy and the easiest way to see my paintings for them is if I list them in my shop. If you want to see them my shop is at http://www.pigglewiggins.etsy.com.
Have a glorious weekend.

Blank books and art journaling

I'm teetering on this journal thing:
Do I want to make an art journal each month in 2009? Or will it just be yet another project I can't keep up with. Sounds like a cool idea. I bought a bunch of blank books at used bookstores if I can ferret one out for this project. You know how people give friends those blank books to write their dreams in or to use as a diary and they are too posh to use so they just sit there until they get given away to a used bookstore? I'm telling you, that's where they end up and you can snap them up for a song.

Weaving, books and hummingbirds

I finally sat still long enough to take some photos of my weaving experiments. An experienced weaver would probably laugh their head off at these, but nothing ventured, nothing gained. I'm experimenting with different types of fibers and tensions.

I got a woodcarving book from the library so I need to find my tools for that. It has some simple beginner's projects I can tackle.

And I got a book on making handbags that has some awesome ideas in it.

I'm almost well enough to get back into the swing of things. Today really helped. It was warm outside so I sat on the patio and read for a few hours, and the heat helped thaw out my head cold. I saw a hummingbird today so I went ahead and filled up the hummingbird feeder. The adjoining apt. used to have one, but they moved recently and I just now realized the feeder in their yard was gone. I didn't see the bird again today, but it takes them a few days to get used to a new object being in their territory. I'm sure they'll find it soon enough.

More books

I've had to take it slow today because of this cold. Last night I got to weave for a few hours. That was fun.

I went to the library today and did some drawing and worked on my cross-stitch. But I was tired so came back home sooner than I'd planned just to get some rest. The library was crowded. There were hardly any spaces left in the parking lot. I just went to the library so I won't have any shortage of books to read any time soon. I signed up for the book Twilight and I'm #69 on the waiting list. I fared a bit better with Inkheart. I think I'm #1 on that list.

From the Library

I'm at the library picking up a whole stack of craft books. I'm going to check out the New Book of Image Transfer, Wreaths and Garlands, Crafting With Flea Market Fabrics, Crochet Jewelry and the Yarn Girls Guide to Simple Knits. If you are on a budget don't forget to check your library for inspiration. Also, I can use the computer here free for an hour. And I can renew my books online. If you haven't been to a library in years you'd be amazed at how different they are.

Coming home today

I painted faces for four hours on Sat. I also started a peyote stitch freeform necklace in red & purple & made some progress on that yesterday. I got two new beading books to read on the train ride home. That should keep me busy for awhile. Both are on beadweaving. Peyote Stitch Beading Projects by Bead & Button Magazine and The Art & Elegance of Beadweaving by Carol Wilcox Wells. They both have excellent photos and diagrams and lots of inspiration.
I also thumbed through Sew Somerset magazine and got some good brooch ideas using fabric and trim scraps. I may have to subscribe to that magazine.