AMANDA'S BASKETS: The Background Has Been Hung

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Background Has Been Hung

PICTURES OF THE DAY:

You know, they really do not look as good in pictures as they do in person. Maybe I'm critical of my work, but I see all the imperfections. When you are sitting in the audience all the imperfections really do fade away. Of course, a lot of the furniture will be moved also so you also have a better view of the background.

If I really did get serious about doing this, I would do a few things differently. First of all, I would not purchase used sheets from a resale store. The sheets really do not have any sizing left at all and they stretch out of shape at the drop of a hat. But, this had to be done on a shoestring for now. Next, I would find a place to work with really large tables, no more floors! And finally, I think I would invest in a sewing machine that did not break down frequently.

At any rate, this one is finally done and 'hung'!!!

I seem to have a craving for drawing with colored pencils when spring and summer arrive. When we lived in NYC I always took drawing classes from a fantastic artist who specialized in colored pencils. One of my exercises was to take a sheet of paper and divide it up into four or six sections and quickly draw an object. Then using colored pencils, fill in the object. Here is the single sheet followed by the individual pictures.

Well, it was an interesting experiment. It's been a long time since I tried this, but I think I will continue doing it to work on my sketching.

Oh, and I did one more doodle. The pictures are of the doodle after I outlined it with a black marker, then the picture of it partially colored with markers, then completely colored, then finally re-outlined with a black marker...

My camera doesn't seem to be working too well right now. The battery is low and that does affect it results. I will charge it before I take any more pictures.

Our weather for the past twenty-four hours has been wild. Last night we had lots of thunder and lightening and a little rain, today we had temperatures more like July, and late this afternoon we had wild winds and a little rain come rushing in and now it is very cool - not cold - but cool. Love it!!!!

Thanks for visiting...

CRAFTING IDEAS

I am always looking for a small piece of paper to write down something which will later be disposed of. I decided to use some of the scrap paper of which I have a ton. I mostly use the paper for glueing projects. I decided to cut the paper into a small size. (Six pieces from a piece of copy paper.). But just having them sitting on my desk would get messy without a container. So, using a cardboard box, I cut it down to size and using a hot glue gun I glued the ends together. Using a picture from a magazine cut into pieces and stick craft glue, I glued the pieces to the box inside and out. I also used some decorative tape for the outside edges. And to finish the top corners which were not covered, I used straight pins with colorful tops. Looks nice and works well.

MAGAZINE IDEAS

(New) One article in the Farmer's Almanac 2024 is a list of trends. One I knew about is the trend to downsize in just about every area. Another trend that I was surprised about was called ''The Human Library' which offers people on loan to talk about specific subjects. Finally, more folks are adding pets to their family and as a result, stores are adding more pet food, toys and medication to their offerings. There's also a nice garden article which suggests mixing vegetables and flowers together for success.

RECIPE IDEAS

Have you every made Cherry Dump Cake. It calls for 2 cans of Cherry Pie Filling (21 ounces), a white cake mix, 1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted & 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans. In a 9 by 13 pan, spread both cans of cherry pie filling. Add the melted butter to the cake mix and break apart the resulting mixture and crumble it evenly over the pie filling. Sprinkle the pecans evenly over the mixture. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 - 45 minutes until the topping is golden brown. Serve with vanilla ice cream. Fast, easy and very delicious.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

What if you want to establish better habits, then decide what habit you want to work on. Again, try an easier one first for that good feeling of success. Let's consider more exercise. Start small. Don't try to run a marathon right away. Set the amount of time, the type of exercise and when to do it to begin making sure that it is within your reach. If it works for you each week add a bit more. Walking is one of the best ways to get good overall movement but there are many exercise videos on YouTube of varying lengths and difficulty to check out. Change your exercise routines to eliminate getting bored. For hardcore exercise with weights, give yourself a day in-between to recover. Even on days you would rather not exercise, do it and see if you feel better. It takes an average of 66 days to establish a habit. Just think 66 days to establish a good habit for a lifetime. Sounds like a good thing to me...how about you?