Still Puttering

Yes, I'm still puttering around with crafts.   But I have also been working on my digital magazine.   I keep postponing the publication date because every time I think I have things ready...something else takes a major portion of my time.  

I don't know about you, but I can do some projects in small segments of time.   Other projects require longer segments of time.   Unfortunately, working on the magazine is one of them.   I have to have at least a couple hours of time to do any type of work that I consider worthwhile.   And believe it or not, it is hard to find that kind of time, especially when my schedule fills up.

At any rate, I thought I would share more pictures from the Painted Desert.   Believe me, I have a lot to share...I took well over a thousand pictures at each of the parks...some two thousand.   Guess I get carried away.   But without further ado, the pictures...

Thanks for checking things out here...

Enjoy your evening...

Still Craftiing

The weather here is cold, wet and windy.   The heater is on and I will be sleeping under the electric blanket once again tonight.   The clouds are hanging so low that they are obscuring the tops of the mountains.

But with all of that, I have been crafting.   Today's piece is going to a group who are putting together a handmade book of support cards for a friend who is going through a hard time.

They asked for chipboard, but as I could not find any in sheet form, I used two thicknesses of cardboard glued together.   The size of the card is 5 1/2 by 7 with an inch on the left used to secure the card in the book.

The first thing I did was collage a smaller piece of lightweight cardboard and edge it with an adhesive backed metal stripping.  

On the base form, I wrote words depicting friendship all around the smaller collage piece.   I then covered that with both plain and designed beige tissue.   To secure the smaller collage piece to the base, I used brads.

To make the holes for the brads I used the Fiskars craft hand drill.   This is the first time I have used it and it is wonderful...

It's quite inexpensive but you do need to have a set of drills which are also inexpensive.   If your crafting includes making lots of holes in heavy cardboard or light wood,  this tool is for you.

Here's a close-up picture...

After attaching the smaller collage piece to the base, I attached ribbon over the smaller piece...

I then made eight small strips out of lightweight cardboard, printing supportive sayings on the back and attaching a small pink bird.   These were inserted into the ribbons.   When on the card, they cover up the word friends.   When removed, the word is exposed...

Using a different tissue paper, I collaged the back of the base after first covering the brads so they would not pierce the tissue paper.   I added two flowers and an envelope to use for a personal message to the recipient.   After the back was finished, I added the metal strip around the outside.

It's been a fun day.   I don't know about you, but I can get completely involved in crafting and lose all track of time.

Thanks for stopping by...

Enjoy your evening...

My Favorite Wild Flowers

I know, I know, everyone considers dandelions weeds, but I love them.   And I remember my grandma making dandelion wine - never tried it so I have no idea what it tastes like.   But the dandelions are glorious out here in Park City....probably much to the frustration of neighbors...

Remember blowing the seeds, and making daisy chains with them, and holding them under your chin to see if you like something...

Experimenting with watercolor crayons has been on my agenda for a while...

I have been making backgrounds using the crayons, spraying with water and brushing and I like the results.  In this first picture, I simply drew circles and after spraying with water, I used the brush in a circular style...

 

In this background, I just scribbled the crayons any which way and then used the brush on the wet canvas in a back and forth style...

In this background, I covered each block with the crayon and then after adding water, I brushed back and forth keeping within the lines of the original crayon application...

I'll show you how I use these backgrounds in the future...

Finally, I have been doing some more paper collage.   I really like using a stiff edge to smooth down the collage pieces.   My favorite tool is a plastic half circle small ruler similar to what elementary students use.  I'm not done with this piece yet, but it's looking pretty good so far...

I have to say that I am enjoying crafting once again, especially in my new office area.   The design is working out well.

I'm back to regular morning exercises once again.   I can tell quickly when I don't make time to do  them.   But it's so easy to let them slide when life intervenes!!

I've also added my first simple yoga routine in the afternoon.   I've done yoga in the past and have incorporated some poses in my morning exercises but I'm hoping that the added routine will keep me moving more easily.

Hope your weekend was great...did you see the eclipse?

Have a great evening...

Thanks for stopping by...