I Resolve...

Don't you just hate new year's resolutions? They're broken within weeks (if not days) of January 1st, and often they are so unreasonable in their goal that they can't be kept by a sane person. That being said, I'm going to try a resolution or two, to give me a creative boost. 

I RESOLVE

...to take at least one photograph everyday. Something in the house, outside, a portrait of my daughter or the dog, some new angle of an old thing. But SOMEthing, to play with the camera, get more comfortable with the settings, and learn to make them work for me.

I RESOLVE

...to create a piece of art (whatever that may become) for every day in April, with a focus on autism and/or my daughter (who is autistic). April is Autism Awareness Month; I meant to do something last year, but it never materialized.

I RESOLVE

...to finish keywording my photos in Lightroom, and learning to use that program effectively.

I RESOLVE

...to feed my soul with creative endeavors (instead of junk food).

What resolutions are you considering for 2009, year of the Ox (i.e.: prosperity through hard work)?

Revised Tree Skirt, Stockings

A couple of things happened today to make me revise my plans for that star-shaped tree skirt: 1) eQuilter sold out of the green fabric (the one with the ornaments on it), and 2) I didn't want to chase all over hell trying to find it. Talking to Mom about it, I decided and she agreed that plain, solid green might serve me better than adding yet another pattern to a design that will already have 5 different patterns on red backgrounds. So I got some plain green cotton... and a vintage Santa on green, and some retro candles on red... It was 75% off! I couldn't resist! NO IDEA what will become of it, but it's definitely a retro thing going on, even if the years don't much match up. I may use the Santas as appliqués on the solid green. It looks like old 1940s wrapping paper - it's great! Same with the candles, only not as youthful. Don't know what I'll do, but I'll use it for something. Eventually.

For the stockings, I found a McCalls pattern (free!) that I liked, and a paw print stocking at FamilyFun that I thought was cute. Only problem was, they were two different sizes, and frankly I thought the paw was too big anyway. Through the miracle of Photoshop, I spliced the two together, creating this: 

I resized the bottom of the paw until it met the sides of the regular stocking. Then I resized the paw pads to allow for a 1/4" seam allowance that the original did not have. Now the two patterns will be very similar in shape and size, since all I did was modify the foot of the stocking. I'll use the solid green for a cuff on both patterns, and for the paw pads on the dog's stocking. Since the first stockings I made in college for my sweetie and me were hand-sewn, doing these on a machine should be a snap.

I have hit another snag, however. The pattern piece for the tree skirt is about 26" long. The half-yard of the snowman fabric I ordered is too short, and the pattern of the material is not going to rotate 90 degrees and look right. So I either need to find another red background retro print to go with the others, or order another 3/4 yard of that snowman. *sigh*

Vintage Tree Skirt Pattern

I won an auction for a vintage tree skirt pattern. I've scanned all the pieces and uploaded them to Flickr to share with anyone who's interested.

The scanned pattern pieces are printer-friendly. Everything I received is in that photo set, except for the pattern piece made from a 1968 newspaper page. (All it is is the full-size diamond piece, rather than half the piece that is supposed to go on a fold.)

This is the pattern that inspired me in my Dec. 16 posting.

Pre-Xmas Ice

We got some ice and sleet and freezing rain early this morning. After I cut some branches that were threatening power lines to the house, I took my camera out.

The yew outside the front door is really heavy with ice. The temp is warming up a little, so I hope some of it melts off. It's not wanting to break off, and I'd hate for it to be damaged.

My flower garden is rather pretty, even though the blooms are gone. Here's the yarrow, ice-covered:

The hyssop really grew this year, and it looks lovely with an ice glaze:

Barberries are always dramatic, but the ice is especially nice. (So long as it doesn't get any thicker!)

I saw this maple leaf stuck in the branches of one of the shrubs, and upon looking closer, saw that the leaf was actually speared by one of the thorns:

This is Ivan, my Russian Elm. I used flash on this one, because the ice was hardly visible at the distance I was shooting. You can see how grey the sky is. Those clouds are supposed to start dropping around 8 inches of snow any time now.

I love the way the ice looks, and I am grateful none of my immediate family has to go anywhere today. My husband's work declared a "snow day." The school called off. And I work from home. *sigh* Safe and snug, all of us, out of the weather.

Wild Hares

Herein lie my fevered imaginings for a new tree skirt... because I can't make new stockings without a new tree skirt!

The idea is to use this 5-point star, because it's unusual, and because I like it. I'll split each diamond in half, and alternate red and green pieces, because the reds won't match exactly. I considered white, but frankly, it would be filthy instantly. Green is the logical choice. I'll use the same green for each, but the reds will all be different.

Because the tree skirt is for the aluminum tree, I won't have a slit in it, just a hole for the "trunk."

 for my daughter,

 for me,
 for my husband, 

 for the dog,
 to round out the 5 red fabrics (when I received this fabric, the red isn't nearly as orange as this image suggests, thank goodness!), 

 and the green is self-explanatory.

I'll make stockings from the first 4 red patterns, and maybe accent the top with a cuff of green. I haven't decided yet. This will be for next year's tree, as there is no screamin' way I'll be able to get this done in a week, and that assumes that I'd even get everything before Xmas; I have to order all of them but the puppies (which I got today).

Found My Xmas Spirit!

(It was hiding in a pile of laundry.)

Here's my aluminum tree. Actually, it's my second one, but this one's in better shape. It's a long and uninteresting story as to why I have one of these antiques in the first place, so I won't bore you with that.

The color wheel is different from most. Each quarter wedge has a stripe of all four colors (red, green, blue and amber), instead of the wedge being one solid color, which is the usual arrangement.

This photo is blurry, but you can see how the multicolor stripes illuminate the tree with more color than just one as it rotates.
That's my dog, Cody, unimpressed with the tree, and a bit of a sleepy old man at 14. (He's a Border Collie mix, if you're curious.)

Oh look! A couple of wiseguys! Er, wise men. Here's Balthazar and Caspar - but where's Melchior?

Ah, there he is! These guys look great on a silver tree don't they? The metallic plastic is just the thing to celebrate Mithras' birthday. Who? Oh him...

Even the rubber tree got a little bling. In the background you can see, a set of "marbleous" ornaments (acrylic paint poured into glass balls, and swirled) and my daughter's very first xmas portrait.

The first year I tried decorating one of these beauties, I quickly learned that they just won't hold the weight of modern resin/plastic ornaments, so most of my Hallmark ornaments stayed in boxes. I began collecting older ornaments, the tacky plastic ones made by Jewelbrite and others, because they're so much lighter, and really add to the je ne sais quoi of an aluminum tree. My real prizes are the pressed aluminum snowflakes - they're fragile and not in great shape, but I love them! In the 3rd pic (from the top) you can see the bright pink and the green one toward the bottom.

Currently, I have silver and red metallic netting under the tree serving as a tree skirt. I have Plans for a new one, but no time to get it sewed between now and the 25th. 

Christmas Playlist

Here's some of my favorite holiday music, to go along with the dusting of snow we got last night:

The Christmas Song - Nat King Cole & Natalie Cole
Christmas Time Is Here (Inst.) - Vince Guaraldi Trio
Ho Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rhum - Jimmy Buffett
I'll Be Home for Christmas - Frank Sinatra
(It Must've Been Ol') Santa Claus - Harry Connick, Jr.
It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas - Johnny Mathis
Jingle Bell Rock - Bobby Helms
A Marshmallow World - Dean Martin
Santa Baby - Eartha Kitt
Sleigh Ride - Ella Fitzgerald
There's No Place Like Home for the Holidays - Leon Redbone
White Christmas - Bing Crosby
Winter Wonderland - Johnny Mathis
Wizards In Winter - Trans-Siberian Orchestra

And yes this is too "creative miscellany" - I put a lot of thought and creativity into my playlists. ;^)

More Snowy Images

Cattails, as my camera (Canon Rebel XTi; UV, polarizing filters) saw them:

Desaturated 50%, sepia filter 25% in Photoshop (same photo):
Total desaturation (black and white):
Same black and white photo, but with the shadows/highlights adjusted in Photoshop:

Different photo, same pond. Similar to the shot in the previous post, but that one was taken further down the road by several yards.

Desaturated 75%, sepia 35%:

Different shot of the cattails.

Desaturated (100%), sepia filter at 25% run twice:

I think I like the partial desaturation of the pond the best. The colors are soft, but not completely gone.

Beginning to Freeze

A nearby pond, just starting to freeze, the day after the first significant snowfall of the season.

First Snow of the Season

DD before school this morning, trying to catch and eat snowflakes. 

A not-great shot out the car window on the way home from yoga this afternoon. The snow has been of the wet-and-sticky variety, so the branches all look frosted. It's really beautiful.

I hope to get out tomorrow before the temp comes up and all the snow is gone again.

Xmas Ornaments

A friend of mine recently got his own place. One of his housewarming gifts was a Christmas tree. I'd asked another friend earlier if he had one, and if he'd need ornaments - question answered! I wanted to make something untraditional and funky, and since we've often been covered in dye, I thought tie-dyed ornaments (sorta) would be just the thing.

I had initially thought to use that tie-dye-printed felt and sew something, but then (when I couldn't find any) I saw these wonderful laser-cut wooden ornaments, and thought they'd make nice frames for tie-dye patterned paper. Stupidly, I thought it would be easy enough to grab that with the scrapbook papers. Wrong! However, I did find some lovely origami paper that looks dyed.

Materials

Cutting the circles

I used my Fiskars cutting tool to make 2.5" circles of paper; the origami paper was thin enough I could do all 6 sheets at once. Then I made circles out of glitter cardstock (one at a time). 

Gluing the paper circles to the cardstock
I color-coordinated the cardstock with the pieces of origami paper, and glued them together.

Gluing the glitter on the ornaments
I took the ornaments outside to spray with adhesive, then used fine glitter to cover them. I did not prime or paint the wood, so the color variations and the singed edges from the laser cutting shows through the glitter. By not painting the wood, I have a natural color, and the dark edges look great. (Plus I eliminated a step by choosing not to paint them.)

Gluing the paper circles to the ornaments
I used Tacky Glue and a foam brush to pounce on a little glue. As you can see, the 2.5" circles aren't quite the size of the ornaments. I considered tracing and cutting, and quickly decided that was way more work than I wanted to do.

Glitter glue edging to "seal" the paper

I glued around the edges of the paper with coordinating glitter glue, to help seal the paper to the wood. 

DONE

I added a length of ribbon to hang it by, and the ornament is done! The origami paper has really subtle color variations, and I'm really pleased with how well this worked. I made a set for three of my friends and a set to keep.

If you're curious about where the ornaments and the origami paper came from, I got them both at Michael's - and the ornaments were on clearance for 79¢ each.

Anniversary Slips Past Unnoticed

Ooops! October was my anniversary with art cards. I meant to do something, but with all the election nonsense, and things going on here, it completely slipped my mind. I meant at the very least to post something in the forums; I suppose I still can...

This is the very first ATC I made, using layers of paper cut with decorative-edged scissors, a silver opaque ink pad, and glitter paint. It was actually a series of 6, and three of them went into my first swap. I called it "La Lune et la Mer." 

I've gotten quite a bit of pleasure from making and trading art cards. It's really fun to receive art from all over the world. Haven't tried it? Check it out at: ATCsForAll.com! We're a fun bunch of people!

Autumn Maple

We went to Lake Katherine today. The leaves were spectacular in spite of the cloudiness of the day. I love fall!

This photo and others are available as prints from DeviantArt.

ZOMBIE!

Happy Hallowe'en!

A little dark grey and indigo eyeshadow, blue-toned purple lipstick, and you look less-than-healthy. A Hallowe'en self-portrait.

Altered Book

Whilst clearing out the things that ended up in front of the fireplace (so I could clean it out and replace the too-small grate), I unearthed my belly dance altered book. I knew where it was, I just hadn't bothered to dig it out, because I hadn't felt particularly creative lately - too busy feeling like a slug, I guess. Anyway, I do want to get back to that. I was so pleased with the way things were going, and then *SPLAT!* I hit a brick wall. I want to do so much with it, it's hard to overcome all that inertia.

It may end up veering in a direction I had not intended, in to Body Image territory. Like many women, I've struggled with self-esteem as related to physical appearance. It's hard to look in the mirror to see if you're doing it right when you can't bear to look at yourself! Added to that, some moves are obscured by  fat, and you can't see what the muscle is doing. I'm trying to get started on a healthier lifestyle, and that will play into dance, which may well end up in the book. Fortunately, it's a fairly large book, and I have room for that...

I didn't really mean for the project to be art-as-autobiography. I meant all along to include the few pages I wrote when I started taking Magda's classes, but I never meant for it to be just about my experience with dancing. Sometimes when I'm writing, characters take on a life of their own, and go in directions I hadn't anticipated. I can't decide if that's magical or frustrating because I've lost control of my own creation. *shrug* It's not a question I intend to answer today. Instead, I think I'll try to go vote early and beat the crowds.

Photoethnography

My husband referred to my need to document that which I am about to share as ethnography. Which I suppose is correct to a point, but I'm not planning on doing much writing, so it's more ethnophotography or photoethnography. (I think I prefer photoethnography.)

Without further ado, I present... The Lavender Suit.

I saw this mannequin in a shop window while we were on our way to dinner. When we left the restaurant, I grabbed my camera from the trunk and headed back to photograph it. At first glance, it appears to be a young man's suit, but a closer second look reveals it to be a man's suit rolled up to fit onto a child-size mannequin. The shoes, by the way, are either lilac ostrich leather, or embossed to look like ostrich.

Holiday Cards!

Good grief, it's getting to be that time of year already... Because of a really good deal with a film-processing company, I made up some kaleidoscoped holiday cards. 

I don't think I'm going to attempt to get these on the website - too much work. I think I'll probably just make them available where I take my belly dance classes. I'm pretty happy with the results. These (and the other 4 designs) will be affixed to the beautiful Strathmore Photo Mount cards. It's labor-intensive, but the results are really wonderful.

Paper (Art!) Dolls

These are my Ode to Universal Monster paper dolls (art dolls!) winging their was to a Hallowe'en ATC swap. Making them is tremendously entertaining, even if the pieces get on the small-and-fiddly side.
But my paper doll pride and joy is this one:
She was made for a friend of mine who is a dancer, for her birthday. She has 15 points of articulation including positionable hair.

Another set done for a swap is these guys:

Made with homemade paper and found images, they are simplistic and strange. I love 'em!

Needle Felted Monsters

Working on my Hallowe'en necklace project, I came up with these guys:

The jack o'lantern on the bottom is about the same size as the monsters above. In the top 3, Frankie needs some silver bead "bolts" and black bead pupils. The red/white is supposed to look bloodshot. I need to do something to the witch's hat because it's not substantial enough, I may just have to add more roving to it. Drac needs white fangs, even though they won't show up well against his pasty skin, and I need to add fangs to the bat as well.

The pumpkin is about 3/4" tall and wide. The bat is 2 1/2" wide and about 1 1/4" tall. The ghost is just shy of 2" tall. Drac and Frankie are about about 1/2" tall. The witch is about 1 3/4". I need to do a black cat (of course!) and maybe a skull. And I need better lighting to get a better picture of these guys...

I was going to post a link to an article I read in a magazine about a woman who has done some much larger needle felted monsters - really wonderful! Unfortunately, you can't see any of the article online, because Art Doll Quarterly only has a barely-visible image of the table of contents and nothing else. (Personally, I think the Stampington family of magazines have very sucky sites.) However, it's the fall 08 issue, "Judy Bielec's Needle Felted Halloween" if you want to see it. Her website is Moseynme.com, and the monsters are pictured here.

Limited Edition Prints at Etsy!

I finally got them up: 8 limited edition prints, all of them #1 of 10, matted, signed and numbered. Shattered Photos at Etsy is LIVE! Huzzah!

Half the money I earn from the sale of those prints will go to Autism Speaks.

Bachelor button

Mom: Don't read until after your b'day!

I'm serious, Mom.

Do Not Peek.

I will kick your butt if you read this before your birthday.

Seriously.

OK, then. If she peeks now and spoils the surprise it's her own fault.

I made Mom a really unique (REALLY unique) charm bracelet of sorts for her birthday... or I should say, I made the charms. The assembly will have to wait for this weekend, because I don't know how big she wants the bracelet, and I can't exactly ask, right? I tried Diamond Glaze for the first time, since the Glossy Accents clouded up when I handled it.

I printed, much reduced, some of my favorite (goofy) pictures of my daughter. Since Diamond Glaze is water-based, I first sprayed the photos with a matte sealant. I cut them into teeny rectangles to fit the frames, used a bit of Tacky Glue to hold them in place, and sealed them in with the Diamond Glaze. (Those bubbles are a pain! Neither a toothpick nor an old paintbrush were able to eliminate all of them. I think I'll store the bottle upside down from now on.) I'll connect it all together with clear elastic and bead spacers once I know what length Mom wants.

The picture is of the charms before the DG has completely set, hence the milkiness of the finish. The charms are from Darice, and have two holes for either vertical or horizontal orientation.