pas-tic-cio

Demo Day

2009-04-10T08:17:00.004+10:00

Last Sunday for Vic Stampers was Demo Day at Beachhouse Boulevard , and I thought I would share what I was demo-ing with you all...

Yes - tags... it has been a while since I have played around with tags! Monika has the Basic Grey Porcelain range in stock, and wanted to show customers what could be done with the range. The tags use the paper, glimmermists and scraps of stuff left over from old projects... It is part of my new-found "use what you have" philosophy. The shabby chic style is so good for doing this - just colour up what you have!

This is a bucket of immediate "scraps" if had on my desk to use... such a cute bucket!

I would like to thank you all for your kind wishes and support this last week. I feel overwhelmed with your love during this challenging time. It has certainly helped to buoy my spirits.

Have a happy easter everyone.

love Liz

What a week!

2009-04-05T08:44:00.005+10:00

Blog Award!

I am very pleased to announce that I have received my first ever blog award!

Thankyou to Bevlea Ross for nominating me, It is a great honour and I am among incredibly talented women.

The guidelines that come with this award are:

"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers."

It is my absolute pleasure to pass this award on to 5 other deserving winners... drumroll please!

Teresa Abajo : http://www.thetamarisk.blogspot.com/
Gail Smith: http://goosmith.blogspot.com/
Jo Hughes: http://joanne-mylifeisbrilliant.blogspot.com/
Kelsey O: http://ko-ok.blogspot.com/
Di O : http://docobhthaigh.blogspot.com/

some are old friends, and some are new, and all are very,very deserving.

GFC statistic

It has come as a surprise, but I was made redundant on Thursday. Bit of a shock! Anyway, I am going to take a couple of months to decide what I really want to do for the next 25 years and in the interim will undertake some contracting work.

I have been really lucky as many of my clients have been really supportive.

I will post again soon... while I am busy setting things up, It's not like I am in the office :-)

blog you later

Liz

and the art OOZED from every pore (part 2)

2009-03-29T10:17:00.005+11:00

I wanted to add a couple of extra photos from retreat for you all to enjoy...

The first is DJ Pettit's classroom - great views from the windows, and fantastic light!

This one is a snap of Joan McAlpine in Bernie's class with me. Boy, am I going to get in trouble for posting this one... but the concentration was something else!

You will all be aware of the 50 houses that I had to make for retreat (oh the pain), well I took a wooden ruler (an old yard one) for Joan and I, thinking that all 50 would fit. When we mounted them I had about 10 left over!!! Therefore 40 houses to a yard?

Here are some photos of the finished presentation :

and close ups of some additional decoration...

I have placed mine on the doorframe between the back and front part of the house. Having an old home, the ruler fits perfectly!

I will have some more things to share later today.

Liz

and the art OOZED from every pore (part 1)

2009-03-21T11:26:00.008+11:00

where to start with this blog post... from the beginning I suppose!

WOW, what a fantastic time I had at creative soul retreat! I am still a little tired, but artistically energised... This was the place we stayed at - Amberley (Stephanie's classroom was in that room with the arched windows).

I deliberately wanted to do a class with each tutor. DJ Pettit was my first on Saturday. Lovely lady, incredibly talented.

and I made this... isn't it great!

heaps of work for 1 day, and it is still not finished. pages to be done, beading at the bottom and on the spine, but I will get to that soon.

Day 2 was Stephanie Lee. WOW, never did I think that I could make jewellery like this.

Stephanie was a fantastic teacher... she made sure that every person in the class had some time with her (which is not something I usually get). I really appreciated what she did and have a newfound respect for jewellery artists.

Third day was Bernie Berlin, and this class was my FAVOURITE....

(I was too busy in the class doing art to remember to take a photo, so snapped one from afar in the break - but it is a lovely pic of both Steph and Bernie)

These pieces are great, and I am very happy with them. I struggled with the process a little, but will absolutely do it again (I was afraid of the bright red paint in the middle of the everything).

I will blog again later, but just wanted to get this one out today.

cheers

Liz

Well, hellooo

2009-03-08T15:17:00.007+11:00

Hi all,

Things are hotting up around my house at the moment - I am rushing to try and get organised for Creative Soul Retreat 2009... In addition to packing bags (which is based on a loose "piling" system at the moment) I have been rushing to finish 50 - yes, you heard it right, 50, little houses. And they all look like this:

Whew! (sorry about the crummy pic....)

Competition Time

Beachhouse Boulevard is running a monthly comp for scrapbooking - and (gasp) I have entered! What am I thinking??!!?? Oh well, true to form I refused to be too traditional, and if you look back to last month's blog entries you can see a post about 1 of my comp entries (yes, I did a couple) .

If you head over to the blog you can see all the entries, and there is some stiff competition.

Up in Tumba

Since my last post I have been back up to Tumba for Tumba fest weekend. I had a great time, and th0ught I would share a few photos...

wine (from a great little winery - Mannus wines)

family

friends
and a creek

what a great day!

blog you later!

~Liz

My god it's a midweek update!

2009-02-10T20:33:00.005+11:00

Whatever willl happen next? stars falling from the sky... who knows!

I received a couple more photos of the etching class from Jo Hughes and thought that I would share.

Unfortunately I don't have a "good side" at the moment unless it involves a knee-length paper bag (oh well)....

My ArtyOz Christmas Present

This is very remiss of me, I have been meaning to blog this since Christmas, but just didn't get around.

In the ArtyOz 1 on 1 christmas swap, the fabulous Teresa did my gift. She knows how much I love red... so she made me a red book! It is sooo cool.....

I was very lucky. Now the world can be envious of ME!

Thanks again Teresa, I love it (it has pride of place on my TV cabinet)

blog you later

Liz

Big post today #3: playing with chemicals in a heat wave

2009-02-08T11:10:00.008+11:00

Melbourne sweltered through its hottest day on record yesterday - 46.4C (or 116F in the old language). The temperature, recorded at 3.05pm, smashed the previous benchmark of 45.6C recorded on Black Friday, January 13, 1939. It was the highest temperature in the city since the weather bureau began keeping records in 1855.

"Birds are dropping out of the sky" Barry Tapp, of Animal Cruelty Victoria, said.

At least 26 people are dead in the bushfires ripping through Victoria, but the death toll could pass 40. Whole towns have been destroyed and thousands of people left homeless with record temperatures and fierce winds sparking devastating infernos.

Crikey!! This is horrific. To all my country friends, please let me know that you are OK... call, text whatever.

While all this firestorm devastation was going on we were playing with chemicals! (call us brave, call us stupid...)

The ever-amazing Jen Crossley drove down from Ballarat (in this heat wave!!) to do a class on etching with 7 of us. Gail very kindly hosted and turned her aircon up to full blast.

Messy bunch aren't we!

BUT the mess was worth it! This is what I made:

and my inspiration:

WOW Jen is one talented lady.... However Jen proved that she is fallible with a little foaming chemical accident (oops) and a large struggle to make Gail's dremel work....

They failed to get it going .... but check out the cleavage!!! :-)

On a final note I give you the irony for this Sunday the 8th of February, it is currently raining (but not enough to put out a fire) and 21C in Melbourne, as this photo will attest....

hmmm... variety is the spice of life?

I have a few things going on this week, but I have a couple more updates for you so stay tuned!

cheers

Liz

Big post today #2

2009-02-08T10:00:00.007+11:00

Welcome to part 2 of my (catch up) blog post for today...

The first 2009 VicStampers meeting was held at Beachhouse Boulevard last Sunday. The meetings are being held in shops alternating between the east and west side of the city this year which seems to have invigorated the membership a bit based on the numbers last weekend. We all had a great time catching up for the new year, and had some new faces at this meet which was really nice:

Monika did some great demos on watercolours, masks and (my favourite) the tattered angels glimmer mists:

(please note the vigorous bottle shaking going on here - papercrafts exercise 101)

The mask she is using here is the new Heidi Swapp 12" x 12" mask... can't wait for these to come in!

I have also managed to complete the first of my 2 entries for the new Beachhouse Boulevard kit competition. Here is a sneak peek of the finished product:

I am really pleased with the way this one has turned out... I could be spending the winning $25 voucher on a Heidi Swapp mask! More importantly though, I haven't done any sort of scrapbooking for ages, and it was great to get started on it again... I used some of the great shots I took at the farm in January.

I was at Beachhouse Boulevard during the week, and helped Monika re-jig (technical term) a class for a card holder. I used the gorgeous new Kaiser Argentella range to decorate it...

The cardfile is in 12 parts so that it can become a "birthday cardfile" that I can fill with birthday cards as required... ahead of time, an unusual concept for me!!! Monika will be running classes to help me fill it as I could always do with inspiration when it comes to cardmaking... she has some exciting things planned on that front, so keep an eye out for updates.

top up that coffee everyone, there is another post coming!

Big post today

2009-02-08T08:41:00.008+11:00

Hi all,

well - I have been busy again! I have been feeling rather inspired, perhaps because the drugs have finally WORKED, and I am feeling better than I have in 6 months (YAY!!!!) OR it could be because I finally managed to find the top of my craft desk...

I had forgotten what it looked like (and BOY was it dusty and dirty...)

I have been working on whittling down the UFO pile.... that is the UnFinished Objects(d'art) pile, in an attempt to make some room for the upcoming soul retreat at which I will create like a madwoman!

So what have I amanged to achieve??? Let me show you!

This was the pin swap that I blogged about back in June, that have been sitting in a bag in the UFO pile for 7 months (and I might add that that is by no means the project that has been in there the longest...). They got their own hanger that I made from a braces clip (spotlight and grunged) with the last of the crowns I had floating around....

The next UFO to get treatment was a Zettiology themed book I did for the PaperArts group.

This one dated from May 2008, and needed to be "bound" in some manner. A bit of 7gypsies tape and VIOLA! Another tick!

Next up was the VicStampers Collaborative Book....

The covers I had been given had a different number of holes from the pages.... so it couldn't be bound like the others. The answer - rusty wire (like duct tape this stuff holds my universe together).

The PaperArts Christmas swap needed to be framed and hung...

The faux laundry hanger was one of 4 that I bought on the net from the US, back when the Aussie $$ was high. *sigh* those were the days...

Next up is a gothic arch book (i was going through a verdigris phase in June last year... still am as you will all see in a future post). covers:

my page:

Again all that was required was binding... I am feeling a common theme in my UFO pile.... unless I was subconsciously cherry-picking the easy stuff (which on reflection may have been the case).

Lastly is a jigsaw swap for paperqueens:

I had to redo 3 of the jigsaw pieces as they had become damaged in transit (one irreparably so). The redone ones were the middle, middle right and bottom left... the bottom right was my original piece for the swap. I have glued the whole lot onto a backing board now so I can do "something else" with them.

I mentioned soul retreat earlier in this post, and for Teresa who was bagging me out yesterday because I couldn't remember my class schedule, I am booked for the following classes: Saturday- Art Journal with DJ Petit;
Sunday- Stephanie Lee Chain Gang;
Monday - Bernie Berlin Profound Secrets...

I can't wait - although I have to spend some time putting my class supply lists together very shortly (like today). I am not sure what I do and don't have in my stash - and may have to go shopping very soon to fill the holes (what a shame).

Phew!!! go and get a cup of coffee girls (& boys?), and then come back for the next installment!

My gorgeous nephew

2009-01-04T13:26:00.000+11:00

I am practicing my raspberries on Roy......

This is a 3 year old who is living the moment.

Happy New Year everyone

2009-01-04T11:34:00.009+11:00

Hi all,

I am back from the farm, feeling very refreshed and relaxed... and thinking about the cleaning I need to do around the house this afternoon! A bit of procrastination never goes astray - eh wot?

I didn't do any art whilst away, and besides - a large part of the cleaning that I mentioned is in my art space....

as you can see, not a pretty sight!

It was great up at Tumbarumba, and the kids loved their christmas presents from me... Roy got a bike, and Emma a dolly pram:

Even Harry seemed to enjoy himself, except for the bit where he got stuck under the gate (how very Winnie-the Pooh of him).

The walks in the paddock were fantastic.

and even though Ross was busy building a shed:

It was great to spend time with Jill

Wishing you all a happy, healthy 2009...

love
Liz

Bugger - I got sick again

2008-12-28T10:13:00.010+11:00

Well all, this completely sux. I got the lurgie again and have been under the weather for 3 weeks! Needless to say the doctor is running a gazillion tests to find out the problems (like perhaps I DIDN'T have pneumonia earlier this year after all). Never mind, we shall press on regardless.

Throughout all of this though I have battled on with work... I must change my motto to be "you don't lie on your deathbed and think of the times you spent working late"... perhaps that will enforce a little more balance. This last month or so has been absolutely ridiculous.

Went to Perth for a couple of days for work (despite being sick as a dog) and saw the family on the weekend before Christmas. It was Mum's birthday on the 17th so we went out for lunch on the saturday with Mrs B. I haven't seen her in ages, and it was great to catch up. Here is a photo of Mrs B, my sister Bee and Mum at the restaurant.

Art wise I haven't managed much... I did a little piece for Greta for the ArtyOz Christmas round robin using cream and turquoise (and rust)...

but that has been about it really. I have been super busy with work and being sick so little time for pleasure.

I went to my friends Dom and Ian's house for Christmas day - it was fantastic. There were a few of us there, we had a huge lunch (and yes, there is a change in eating habits in my new year). I didn't manage a photo of everyone at the same time, but did get some great shots on the day. The new camera worked a treat.

The hosts with the most: Ian and Dom

Ian's Mum Alma (visiting from Cairns) and Dom's brother Lloyd (visiting from the UK)

Barry (sneaking ham off the table)

and Rob

(I tidied this shot up for him as he says he never has any good photos of himself)

This is in the evening, and you can see Dom, Rob, Alma and Ian

I even got into the (heated) pool!! (no photos of that thank god). The blowing up of the LiLo (not sure why the poms call it that) was a team effort...

and the compulsory picture of me. (If this doesn't provide incentive to get healthy....)

I am off to the farm this week for new years. I am playing Santa and taking up a bike and a pram - did I mention that the boxing day sales are the epitome of hell on earth...

blog you all later!

whew - time for reinvigoration

2008-11-16T10:29:00.006+11:00

well hello all.

hasn't it been a while since my last post. I survived the viral pneumonia but the personal toll on me was high... and the recovery time was long. It was difficult to juggle work and recovery so the blog has lain fallow since the end of August.

To reinvigorate it's (flagging) life, I have added a new background and colour scheme (rather cute huh!)...

what have I been up to other than work and recovering?

I attended a great workshop organised by Kath and Marg with Judy Wilkenfeld. Great class... Teresa took a photo on the day - here it is:

what a gorgeous bunch! Needless to say, I haven't finished my piece. But as I get a little closer I will post some pics to share.

I participated in a US swap for christmas ornaments hosted by Lenna Andrews. Apparently they are winging their way back as we speak, and here are the ones that I sent over:

I prepared these while I was at camp and they were so popular that I am running a class on them at Beachhouse Boulevard - tentatively on the 6th of December (they are Christmas Ornaments after all).

I also ran the class on the pendants shown on the same blog. It was a subset of a larger class I ran at Little Bits in Keysborough. I will post some photos as soon as I find my camera cord (or buy a new cable alltogether!).

I am off to Hobart for a couple of days' work this afternoon, so will post again later this week..

ciao

I am missed

2008-08-28T11:35:00.006+10:00

I got a lovely bunch of flowers from work yesterday, with a sweet note saying that I was missed, and to get well soon.

They are just beautiful.

The cynic in me can't help thinking that it is because they need me back at work desperately... but I shall rise above cynicism, and enjoy the sentiment that comes with receiving beautiful flowers. Thanks everyone!

I have managed to complete another (small) project in the past 2 days - a set of 4 jigsaw pieces. 3 friends and I became enthusiastic over a large jigsaw set and have decided that the 4 of us will do a "colour" themed jigsaw swap. I completed my red set (bottom right) yesterday. I think it looks quite good and it wasn't too hard for me to do as I am very comfortable working in red:

Not much to show for 2 days work, but I am working at about 33% pace at the moment whilst I get better! I went to the chemist yesterday to get more drugs and had to have a lie down afterwards... pathetic!

That's it from me today - I am going to get out of my PJ's now as it is after 12....

blog you later

Liz

23 days

2008-08-26T10:40:00.010+10:00

Hi all,

well, I am being slow - it has been 23 days since my last post. I will excuse myself on the grounds that for the last 10 I have been incapacitated. I have got pneumonia... (queue dramatic music: da da da DAAH)

I thought that this disease died out in the middle ages like bubonic plague, but noo, not in the Aitken household! Too many rats???? who knows what lies beneath the polished floorboards....

Speaking of which, the other reason for my blogging tardiness has been the epic floor polishing... In the week following my last entry, I was living in the back half of my house while my floors were being done - entry, living area and kitchen. They look great:

So the artwork achievements have been a bit minimal during this time... but I have managed to complete my vicstampers collab book covers and page for this year.

a close up of the cover:

and the page. As you can see my verdigris patina run is continuing!

I have also started on my Little Bits class packs - with Harry's help?

The class is scheduled for Sunday October 5th, and I have limited the places to 10. At this stage I think that there are 4 places left, so if you are interested in the "Little Bits at Little Bits" class then contact Leslie for details.

ciao for now

Liz

Helloo strangers

2008-08-03T18:25:00.008+10:00

Hi everyone,

Apologies for my blogging tardiness, things have been really hectic this past month...

You will all be pleased to know that my art mojo is back after a great weekend away at Shoreham on camp! I am absolutely exhausted as a result of little sleep, but the guilt of not having posted for so long is forcing me to the computer, especially as I now have something to blog about....

The mojo had slowed down (left the building really) whilst doing the collaborative book for ArtyOz - probably because of the sheer number of pages required (31) and the repetitive nature of doing it. But they look really good - and are ready to be dropped off to Teresa, so here's a sneak peak:
But more of Shoreham. I was PROLIFIC this year, and have a serious amount of stuff going postal over the next couple of days! I have done a set of "twinchies" for ArtyOz... twinchies being two-inch squares. A challenging requirement of black, white, orange and 1 other colour... I have gone with PINK! (man, I was so far out of my comfort zone with this one!). Here they are:
Excitingly (for me anyway - there was a happy dance involved) I have completed my swap obligations for PaperArts for August AND September (yay, yay, yay). So here is the August caught in crystal ATC:
and the August mini hinge book. Outside:
and inside.
It worked so well that Lesley has a asked to teach it at Little Bits in Keysborough. A paid teaching gig at last!

The September PaperArts project I completed was the pages for a Gothic Arch Screen. I did it in Verdigris colours with burgandy highlights... and I think it looks really good!

So that's it from me for today... I am going to lie down! Will speak to you all later...

Liz

Artist Trading Pins, Little Houses and Inspirational Women

2008-06-22T11:22:00.020+10:00

Hi all,

Well, I have had a horrible week, down with a nasty cold - feeling miserable, and then a job "blowing up" at work - so I am sick and stressed... in a bizarre in between world of exhausted from the cold and sleepless from anxiety. All in all just terrible.

There's no weigh-in data either because I couldn't get there, but i don't think it will be good - I haven't been well enough to exercise at all....

AH BAH, WHY DO I DO WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING????

On a brighter note I received my pin swap back this week, and I am really impressed with the returns. All so great: These girls are just so clever!

This week (mainly yesterday) I did more little houses (told you that this theme hadn't worked its way through completely) for a swap on Arty International. They have come up fairly well...
Each one is different, so it will be interesting to see which one I get back! I will hand them on to Greta next weekend at a playdate at Gail's house.

I am now down to my last July swap to be completed - YAY!!!! I now have to do 14 ATC's for the Shoreham stamp camp. The theme is empowered / inspirational women, which has set me to thinking about who that that is to me - particularly apt as I am having such a crap time at work!

I thought I might share some of the front-runners I find to be inspirational.

Indira Ghandi: Born into the Nehru dynasty, Indira was always destined for great things. She served as the Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. She was India's first and to date only female Prime Minister

Margaret Thatcher: She was the first woman to lead a major political party in the UK, and the first of only three women to have held any of the four great offices of state. Among other things, she defiantly opposed the Soviet Union, and her tough-talking rhetoric gained her the nickname the "Iron Lady". She served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and was said to only need four hours sleep per night.

Queen Elizabeth I: Dubbed The Virgin Queen, she reigned from 1558 until her death. Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister, Mary I, during whose reign she had been imprisoned on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. Elizabeth is acknowledged by historians as a charismatic performer and a dogged survivor, in an age when government was ramshackle and limited and when monarchs in neighbouring countries faced internal problems that jeopardised their thrones. Such was the case with Elizabeth's rival, Mary, Queen of Scots whom she imprisoned in 1568 and eventually had executed in 1587. After the short reigns of Elizabeth's brother and sister, her forty-five years on the throne provided stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity.

Oprah Winfrey: Oprah is a multiple Emmy Award winning host of her own and the highest-rated talk show in television history, Oprah can also boast being an Academy Award-winning actress, influential book critic and magazine publisher. The richest African American in the 20th century, the most philanthropic African American of all time and some would argue, the single most influential woman in the world.

I must say that Oprah is my current front runner for the ATC swap. The fact that she has been INCREDIBLY influential in getting America to select Obama as the democratic candidate for presideny is absolutely amazing. I am in awe of the fact that she was instrumental in breaking 20th century social taboos in the US and allowed gays, transsexuals, and transgender people to enter the mainstream of American life.

Most importantly to me though, is her incredible work as a philanthropist. Oprah's Angel Network is her charity aimed at encouraging people around the world to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged others. Accordingly, Oprah's Angel Network supports charitable projects and provides grants to nonprofit organizations around the world that share this vision. To date, Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $51,000,000. Winfrey personally covers all administrative costs associated with the charity, so 100% of all funds raised go to charity programs. Oprah also personally donates more of her own money to charity than any other show-business celebrity in America. In 2005 she became the first black person listed by Business Week as one of America's top 50 most generous philanthropists, having given an estimated $303 million. Oprah has also put 250 African-American men through college.

A truly inspirational woman. If you feel in the need for spiritual healing, go to her website: www.oprah.com

blog you all later!

back on the wagon & 3 weeks of catch up

2008-06-15T08:12:00.007+10:00

Doctor, its been 3 weeks since since my last blog entry.....

As you can all imagine, its been busy, busy, busy AT WORK! This work life "balance" thing needs to be renamed to work life "imbalance" for me. I have been having a VERY stressful time & not sleeping because of it... damn clients! Oh well, I am doing what I can to redress the issue, we shall see what transpires.

I have gotten back on the weightloss bandwagon, which languished for a while there (4 weeks actually) while all this cr%p was going on. Went back to JC this week and haven't gained / lost any weight at all. Still sitting at 91.5kg, so that is a good thing. I shall recommence the name and shame from next weekend.

I managed to get to Kathy's 1 day last weekend and had a great time with the girls... got a lot of stuff done on my nature collab book page... I blogged the background in my last post (3 weeks ago) ... and managed to complete the prototype. Yesterday I completed all the pages! Today I am backing them and tomorrow they are going postal. YAY!!! and here it is:

I think it came up fairly well. There will be a couple of centimeters of binding on the left, so it won't look so unbalanced once bound. I am supposed to do covers to send as well, but I am SO over it at the moment, that I will send blank ones and wait until it comes back before decorating.

I also managed to get another house chore done last weekend. I have been living here at #29 for 2 years this month (my god time flies), and before I moved in all my stuff, I converted the colour scheme in the main area (that includes the kitchen) from (cool) yellow/bright green to (warm) brown and mocha tones. The problem was that the strip of feature tiles in the kitchen was green - the same green as used on the walls. Boy did it clash!

see! so I got the tile paint to fix it and painted them on Sunday and finished them on the Monday public holiday. I am so pleased with the results - look for yourself....

Much improved... All I need to do now is floors and window treatments and the main room is done! Just need to find time to ring tradies to get them around for a quote..... which could be a challenge in itself.

I am off to see Prince Caspian today - the second of the Narnia series... can't wait. I am such a child - I haven't even had time to see the Sex & the City movie yet, and Narnia ranks above it in my preferences!! Fantasy v Prada, and fantasy wins - although in my life Prada = fantasy anyway!

cheers all

Making up ground

2008-05-24T17:16:00.008+10:00

Hi all,

well with a HIDEOUS week of work travel looming this week (Brisbane and Sydney for 4 days) I am trying to get back on top of my swap commitments this weekend. I have finished my artist trading pins for ArtyOz, and they are winging their way to Ness Henry in QLD as I type. Here's a sneak peak of the finished products....

and a close-up of my pin....

yes, it is MORE houses.... and the house theme has not played out completely as I still have one more house swap to go! Although this next one will be a little more elaborate in 2D. But there is 1 other project to complete before then - one which has had me tearing my hair out because of its restrictive rules.

Some of you may remember my cathartic blog post about the nature themed collaborative book that I am in. Well this is the tearing my hair out, painful, difficult project I am referring to. But this weekend the procrastination is over - I have committed something to paper.... a background!!!! (woo-hoo I hear you all cry). And this is a pretty good background if I do say so myself - lots of impasto with gauze in it, and a couple of greenish, purplish, yellowish washes and colours added. Voila!

Now for the struggle with images, but a structure is forming in my mind... and I think I am close to a title; either "where the sea meets the sky" or "in the horizon".... Stay tuned, and I will post some more as the page develops further. Fortunately I still have some time as they are not due until 31 July, but I do want to get them done and out of my hair as I have 1 very large collab book set to be done for September (30 pages - my god what do I get myself into).

Before I (b) log off for tonight, I wanted to share one more thing. You know those free advertorial postcards you get in cafes? Look at this one for a FREE exhibition currently running at the State Library of Victoria... I managed to clear out my local coffee shop of 13 the other day. They are just fantastic! Grab some if you can - I am certainly on the hunt for some more....

Have fun all - I am off to the Scrappy Hollow birthday sale tomorrow (more shopping), and then to a friends house for the MASSIVE Eurovision final tomorrow night. Can't wait - I am a super sucker for Eurovision, and the cheesier the better!

catch you all soon

Liz

I'm Baaack (part 2, the delayed telecast)

2008-05-18T11:15:00.010+10:00

Woops...

It has now been 3 weeks since may last blog entry so lets's call this post the long awaited delayed telecast of Part 2. (So much for blogging next day.)

Anyhoo, on to the weightloss stats from the last 2 weeks (valid to last Monday the 12th April)

Weekly Name and Shame: +2kg

damn.... brushing that aside lets get on to other stuff...

Stamp Camp (or as Monika calls it, scramp camp)

It seems like the camp was ages ago now.. so long in fact that I can't remember all the details and I want another one!!!!

New locale this year at Bacchus Marsh - all I can say is GORGEOUS... a bit more upmarket than the guide camp, and the views were stunning. Made having a ciggie outside a very zen experience.

The class I ran seemed to go fairly well, everyone had a good time and made some great little transparency books. (I blogged this one before in march if you want to view the sample). So much for my estimate of 3 hours to make the book - it was more like 5! I must learn how to judge these things a little better....

The card class with Joan was good too - the cards were fairly complex, ones that we had worked on for quite a few hours on the 2007 camp, so it was good to see them recycled as a class. Joan also won the Friday night challenge (be-atch), and got an unmounted plate as a prize.''

I was not as prolific this year as I have been in previous years in getting "stuff" done. All I really managed to do outside classes & challenges was a Gothica ATC swap, and to get impasto onto pages for the nature book swap that is due in July..... and now I am running well behind, but more on current projects later.

ANZAC Day

In part 1 I mentioned that I was off to a play date at Greta's house, and it was just great fun. I received a farily substantial Collections order that day that Gret's had organised. The result of this is a new-found love of little houses....

I realise that these little houses have been trendy amongst the "papercrafting" community for a little while now, but I am not known for being on the "cutting edge" of fashion - just ask anyone who has met me!

So, instead of doing things I was meant to do, I did lots of little houses with the girls. Here is a pic of them sitting on my tv in the back (craft) room....

cute huh! I would also like to mention that the fabulous Jen Crossley (arbiter of papercrafting fashion that she is) is being published with some great houses she has made in the upcoming (or just arrived) Somerset Gallery. Woohoo Jen - big round of applause!!!

I also caught up with Kath Thompson at Grata's house and paid for my spot in an upcoming Rho Bruhn workshop (13th July). I have never done a class with this talented artist, and am looking forward to it very much. Here is a link to her blog to check out her great work.

General & Other Stuff

In the intervening 2 weeks since Anzac Day (Ok, maybe more, but don't remind me of my blogging tardiness please) I have been SHOPPING! PtP was run weekend before last, and I managed to get this great new bag
Isn't it gorgeous! (My crafting luggage is almost as good as my normal luggage now). I also picked up STACKS of supplies - my credit card has an extra stretchmark on it. Most of it was ongoing stuff, but in addition to the bag I did get some new stamps and some great mags/books to get the creative juices flowing ....

now how to find time to play????

I am off to bake some cakes, and am hoping to get a little bit of time this evening to work on artist trading pin swap due at the end of this month... After I get this swap finished I am focussing on things due in July - a LOT of things due in July!

speak to you all soon.

Liz

I'm Baaack (part 1)

2008-04-25T08:38:00.009+10:00

Didjya miss me???

Well, a couple of weeks have flown by (almost 3 actually) since my last post... things have been a bit crazy as you can probably guess both personally and at work (next week's travel schedule is a bit punishing.....)

Anyhoo, on to the weightloss stats from the last 2 weeks (valid to last Monday the 21st April)

Weekly Name and Shame: -1.5kg

Not bad, and that included my parents being here with the associated eating out, and going on a stamp camp. This week I am hoping to break through the dreaded 90 kg barrier and get back into the 80's!!!

Visiting with Jan and Al

Janice and Alan visited this side of the country to see moi and to go up to my sister at the farm in Tumbarumba. While they were here on the Melbourne leg of their tour, I decided that we should get out and see something.

My mother has what can only be described as an "unhealthy obsession" with maps. Therefore to give her some Melbourne "context" I decided that we would do the loop - all the way around Port Phillip Bay in a clockwise direction - starting and ending at Footscray.

We got down to the Mornington Peninsula at lunchtime, and went to a great winery called 10 x tractor. the food was TO DIE FOR. My mother had the best fish dish I think I have ever tasted, and I had a sample plate of all the entrees on the menu - divine.... (I also bought them out of their pinot - they only had half a dozen bottles left). This is a photo of us waiting to get a table for lunch.

We then went off to do stuff in the afternoon - and went to the strawberry farm (which was a little disappointing as I was hoping to buy some strawberry plants, not just strawberry products), and then to Cape Schank where we played tourist at the lighthouse.

I must say that the scenery around the lighthouse is just amazing! I can see why hundreds of ships have found their demise along this part of the Australian coastline.... (this is a view from inside the lighthouse looking down the cliff)

The lighthouse itself is also really cool... My penchant for old mechanical things was well and truly met that day inside the lighthouse itself.... they still have all the old working bits, despite the lighthouse functions now being mechanised electrically rather than by a clockwork system.

We stayed at a great guesthouse in Sorrento (Whitehall Guest House) on the Friday night, and on Saturday continued outr explorations. We went to the old fort at Point Nepean. A good 10km walk, and we explored all sorts of stuff!

We finished the trip with a ferry ride across the mouth of the bay to Queenscliff and after coffee in the town and a quick look around headed home up the Princes Highway. Needless to say the next day was spent recovering before Mum and Dad headed up to the farm.

In Part 2 of this update I will fill you in on Stamp Camp last weekend, but right now I am off to a play date at Greta's house..... must make salad and pack something to do!

Blog with you again tomorrow!

I've been tagged - twice!

2008-04-06T09:21:00.002+10:00

Oops, I forgot that I had been tagged when I posted earlier, so second post for the day.

This is what you do:

1. Link to the person that tagged you and leave a comment on their blog, so that their readers can visit yours.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Share 7 Random facts about yourself on your blog.

4. Tag 7 random people at the bottom of your post, linking to their blog. Let each person know by leaving a comment on their blog.

Now, here are 7 random facts about me:

1. I am phobic about cockroaches (a cockaphobe / roachaphobe??), I have baits EVERYWHERE in my house

2. I loathe exercise, although my personal trainer is slowly making me loathe it less.

3. I have a tendency to drink too much in a sitting - not as far as bingeing, just a bit too much.

4. I have been trying to learn french, and despite the spectacular failure this term am getting back on that horse for next term.

5. I really like clubbing / electronic dance music, but hate going to clubs (I am a pub girl), so I compromise and listen to it when I am cleaning (does that make me an old woman?)

6. I am really sad that I never had the opportunity to have children of my own

7. My secret desire is to publish a book (no idea of topic, or whether it would be an art book or a novel). My dad is writing his novel, and has been for a number of years, I really admire him for that.

I am not going to tag others, because most of the 'blogger world" people that I know have already been stung.

A fortnight of catch up

2008-04-06T08:25:00.003+10:00

A bit of catchup required as I was down with the flu last weekend, unfortunately

Weekly Name and Shame: +500g

Oops.... the 3 weeks of hell at work leading up to end of financial year + being sick have played havoc with my weightloss ambitions. WORK-LIFE BALANCE is the key bloggers & bloggettes. Let's hope that it can come off quickly again, particularly now that I am back at the chiro, and he is repairing the damage done to my back from constant sitting and slaving over a hot computer.... I hope so because even the dog is looking a little fat!

On to more fun things, I have this morning finally finished a 1-on-1 swap for artyoz, Bag of Inspiration. (I know, I know, but the end of daylight saving meant that I didn't sleep in). The premise for the swap is that we send a bag of junk to a nominated person, and they return a piece of art using some of said junk.

I had to do a piece for Teresa Abajo (http://www.thetamarisk.blogspot.com/ - check out her blog, great work!) , and I must say that I am very happy with the final result. It is going in the mail today. Here it is:

cool huh! I wanted to make a piece that was free-standing (dust collector for her new house?). I think that she will like it, at least I hope she does. It is very DeMeng inspired, particularly the white spermy shapes and dots, but it did need a lift around the bottom to give it visual balance - the top is quite "busy". It has got that great 1900 mechanics feel, like some sort of bizarre overdecorated machine.

I am looking forward to getting my converted bag of inspiration back from Julian, she has posted pics of the finished piece on her blog - http://buttonstcat.blogspot.com/ (the obsessive hoarder), and it looks great!!!

My parents are coming to visit with me next week, so I won't have much time for play. The following weekend is stamp camp - YAY, It is the beginning of Camp season!!! I LOVE camps, I get so much done and they are so much fun! I feel (on the inside of course) like a 13 year old going on my first school camp again. I always pack too much stuff, and although every time I say that I am going to minimise the amount of stuff I take by focusing on a couple of projects I am ambitious in how much I can achieve, and end up taking half my studio.

Before camp I will need to stir up my creative juices to make inroads on my nature collab book as my "camp project". I have posted previously regarding my frustrations on this book, so I will be looking for an inspirational breakthrough over the next 2 weeks. I must say though that the breakthrough is looking a long way away - I am finding the requirements too proscriptive. There is also an NZeder in the group, so there are HUGE restrictions on what we can do because so much "natural" stuff won't get through their customs. All I can say is WHY join a NATURE swap from an Aussie group when you KNOW that everyone else will have to "dumb down" their pages so that you can get a book???? AAARGH!!!

Whew - that was cathartic.

Till next time!

Stamp Camp class sample

2008-03-24T13:03:00.005+11:00

Hi all,

Well, I have found a bit of time to create - over my exhaustion (I think!), and have made a class sample. Monika has asked me to do a class on the Saturday of stamp camp (18th to 20th April), so I thought that I would do a transparency book with metal tape and "stuff". Really, it is just a chance for me to do things that I am really enjoying at the moment - a mix of demeng transparency techniques, alcohol inks, foil tape & (good old-fashioned) stamping.

Here is the front of the sample:

the first inside shot

and the second inside shot (with a great view of the blue striped cushion on my back couch).

It is all 2.5" x 3.5", so it will also add to the technique repertoire of class members for their own atc's.

Should be a fun class - and will only take about 3 hours to do, which will give everyone lots of time to play on their own projects as well. I hope that Monika likes it!

I'm off to do some mother's day cards now for VicStampers ... hope you are all enjoying the last day of your long weekend!

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T11:00:00.003+11:00

Well, here is my belated name and shame for last week....

Weekly Name and Shame: +500g

Oops! Oh well, hopefully it will improve on Tuesday at my next weigh in.

Work has been insane - I have been doing very long hours getting 3 reports out, the last of which was sent Thursday. I subsequently spent most of Friday and yesterday sleeping / resting. What an old woman I am becoming!

I had a great trip to Sydney last weekend - for my friend Rick's 50th birthday at the Oaks hotel in Neutral bay. I got to spend time with some of my best friends, and my goddaughter... I (of course) forgot to take my camera, so when I get some pics back from Carolyn I will share.

I managed to get to a late-night stamping fest at Beachhouse Boulevard on Thursday night, got off the (delayed) plane from Brisbane and after feeding the kids rocked down to the shop at about 10.30pm. Stayed until about 3am, but couldn't hack it any longer... again with the old-age woossieness...

But I managed to finish off some ATC's that I started a little while ago. Here is one of them (wings that aren't wings):

It is hard to tell, but the background is embossed foil tape with alcohol inks... yum, my favourites!

Today is an arty day... what a great way to spend Easter Sunday - doing what I want and not being answerable to anyone... sometimes it is nice to be single with no kids or responsibilities to anyone but myself! So I am going to finish off my "Picture This" ATC's for ArtyOz group - this one has been extremely challenging for me, I hope that they are OK... and to do a class sample for stamp camp in April - I am teaching on the Saturday, so need a decent project to do. I am thinking transparencies and depth.... will play and see what I can come up with!

Happy Easter everyone!

Weekly Name and Shame

2008-03-11T09:07:00.002+11:00

Drumroll please...

Weekly Name and Shame: -600g

this exercise feels a bit like the tortoise and the hare - it is a case of INCHING the weight downwards. I suppose that if I could spend 4 hours a day doing training whilst locked in a glamorous mansion I could lose more, but I have bills to pay.

Maybe if I win lotto I can treat myself to a fortnight away at a health spa.....

Damn. I will now sit here in the office for the rest of the day fantasising about what that would be like!

Didn't get to do any more artwork on the weekend - in fact I worked. (grumble, grumble) I won't get anything done this weekend either as I am off to Sydney for a friends 50th birthday (must make a card this week before I go). I am *hoping* that I get a couple of days' break at Easter so that I can get some things done - like produce a sample for a class at Stamp Camp in April!.

speak to you all soon!

Tags and more

2008-03-09T11:49:00.004+11:00

Hi all,

Well I was a lucky girl during the week and received a stack of stuff in the mail - and all of it beautiful! I was particularly excited to receive a tag swap back from the very talented Julian Buttenshaw, and thought that I would share. The photos do not do it complete justice, particularly as Julian has used the great demengiefever treatment for transparencies, which give the piece a huge amount of depth and interest.

And there was an even nicer surprise waiting on the back. Reds + texture! This piece was absolutely custom made for me!

Thankyou, thankyou Julian.

I am struggling with a collaborative bookpage at the moment - it seemed like a good idea to sign up for this in November, but I am struggling. The collab book theme is surrounding wonders (ie nature) and the book has to be done in blues and greens. I was in a good blue-green phase when I signed up, but now it is long gone! I will have to continue with doodles / fiddles until something comes up (which usually means that I end up with a LOT of ATC backgrounds). I may have to have a play with some texture paste to get the juices flowing a bit.

On other matters my car window was smashed on Friday night in a parking station in the CBD - some little b^#@#^*& had decided that a late night rampage would be a good idea and broke into my car looking for Penelope (my navman). Fortunately, Penelope was at home but as it is a long weekend O'Brians glass can't fix it until next week. The upshot is that I am without a car until Wednesday because there is only gladwrap covering the passenger side "window". The real irony if this was that I was being responsible leaving my car on Friday night because I thought that I had had 1 too many drinks to drive, and would be better off collecting my car the next morning. So, being responsible drops me an insurance level rating, which means that my insurance will cost more, I have to pay the excess, I paid extra to leave my car overnight in the CBD, and had taxi fares. All in all a VERY expensive evening.

From the keyboard of the disgruntled (and poor) Liz

Weekly Name and Shame & stuff

2008-03-03T21:24:00.006+11:00

Well, lets get it over with...

Weekly Name and Shame: -100g

sorry about the delayed post - work has been ridiculous, and I had to wait an extra 2 days for my weigh in. Had a bad week this week - work stress. Ho hum.

On other (more interesting) matters I have been relatively quiet on the art front due to work, but have managed to finish a couple of things.

The first is Kit Swap VIII for Arty Oz (apologies for the quality of the scan - nothing seems to be working well for me today). In a kit swap we can't use anything other than what is provided.

The next is an altered book in a tin for paperarts (I am currently doing July swaps). This is the tin:

Inside 1:

and inside completely open.

Hopefully I will get the long weekend this weekend and not have to work, so I can knock off a couple of other things! Will keep you all posted...

Weekly Name and Shame

2008-02-23T14:34:00.000+11:00

Weekly Name and Shame: -1.3kg

yee-ha!

General update

2008-02-17T15:55:00.003+11:00

Hi all,

Things have been a bit busy this last week, hence the lack of posts. I will start with the usual:

Weekly Name and Shame: -100g

not brilliant, but things will look up this week, I know.

in terms of other stuff, I was very busy last weekend helping Monika unpack at the new store. She opened at new premises in Spotswood on Tuesday the 12th. Very exciting for her, so please drop by and visit - you can actually see all the stock now - it is great!

My sister dropped by to see me on her way through to a hiking trip in NZ.... I have also been very busy at work, the boss was away in India, so I copped a bit of an admin burden this week.

I managed to do another baby card yesterday - which is rather sweet. Used some stampin up stamps that were still virgins to do it:

I should give a shout out to Lou and Martin and say congratulations on the birth of Holly Matilda!

I have also managed to complete my prototype for the latest ArtyOz Kit Swap, i will try to get them completed during the week and hand them on next Sunday, so I will be able to post output later on...

With any luck my output level will be on the rise again this week, so stay tuned!

weekly name and shame

2008-02-07T17:42:00.001+11:00

Weekly Name and Shame: -1kg

well, now we are talking! this is a much improved result after last week.

must focus on sticking to the plan this week :-)

DeMengie Fever!

2008-02-04T10:05:00.001+11:00

Well, this is this is my creation from yesterday's transparency class with Michael DeMeng :

Here is the detail of the transparency (behind the optical lens at the bottom of the shot):

The class was just great, and I am really pleased with how my piece turned out. I was lucky in that my composition just fell into place on the day.

I picked up some great tips from Michael - I was particularly interested in the patina effects created with pain washes. Very good stuff. His alteration techniques and use of transparencies was really clever, and who knew that Liquid Nails would become an essential art supply!

I didn't get photos of everyone else's work because the battery in my camera died, but all the work created on the day was just fantastic, and it was great to catch up with so many ladies I haven't seen for a while.

I think that I will be doing more "ASS-emblage" in the future.

Weekly name and shame

2008-02-01T09:26:00.000+11:00

Weekly Name and Shame: +600g

well, disappointed is putting it mildly - I am back up to where I started! My JC consultant isn't sure what happened, but I will continue to faithfully keep my journal and if I haven't lost next week she will send it off to the dietician.

AND I did exercise this week too!

bah humbug.

btw

2008-01-30T21:10:00.000+11:00

I AM A TOTAL GIRLIE SWAT GOODIE 2-SHOES

I am now finished swaps up to the end of the year (financial year anyway)

and I love it!

Snacking distractions & a fixation???

2008-01-30T20:20:00.000+11:00

In a desperate attempt to stop myself from snacking (ie rummaging through the house looking for anything that resembled a treat) I sat down to finish all the rest of the projects that I could last night. This meant Vic stampers competition ATC's....

Left to right we have April (jigsaw piece) , May (rectangle) and June (star). I tried to stay away from red, but the pull is just too great, and I could only do 1 ATC in something else before I got sucked back into the void!

For those of you who have seen my arty fiddlings over the years you will know that red pops up again and again. For example we have this canvas:

and this book cover:

(hand-dyed red velvet - YUM!, must get more)

and this from inside said same book:

and this inside someone else's book:

and this collaborative book contribution:

For variety I will occaisionally intersperse the red with purple (well they are next to each other on the colour wheel). For example this is from A book which is ENTIRELY RED AND PURPLE:

must...... find....... another......... colour....... combination.

A surprise & even more girlie swatness

2008-01-29T18:12:00.000+11:00

I had only just press "publish" on my earlier blog post and the doorbell rang - it was the postie delivering me 2 books I had ordered from Amazon. The first is Michael deMeng's Secrets of Rusty Things - which I will be hunkering down with in bed this evening, and on the train tomorrow, and at my desk when I should be doing other things - perhaps I should call in sick instead - but what excuse??? Of course - I have come down with deMengie fever!!!!!

The other book I had ordered was this one:

I had seen a copy at Monika's and decided that I HAD to have it - it is a fantastic "bible" of paper altering techniques. I can thoroughly recommend it, and I intend to work my way through all the techniques in it over the next few months... that should keep my creativity levels up!

Inspired by the desire to begin working my way through paper transformed I thought I should knock off another set of ATC's that I have committed to (this one's due in April) - Beeswax, one of my favourite mediums.

I only have clear beeswax left at the moment, so thought I would go with a vibrantly coloured image to take advantage. I bought a stack of collage sheets from digitalcollagesheets.com the other week, and this gorgeous chubby-faced girl was on one of them. I printed her out on glossy 135gsm paper to really make her stand out through the beeswax. The background is dress pattern and a bit of old newspaper. Dymo labelling and copper tape to seal the edges, and viola! another set of ATC's. I am sending Barb in Wagga Wagga a very large parcel tomorrow!

ciao

MOO Cards & Girlie Swatness

2008-01-29T14:28:00.000+11:00

Well, I am feeling very good about myself - in fact I am giving myself a "girlie swat" badge for being so productive over the past few days. I *know* that gloating is not a very attractive emotion to display but I have almost completed all the swaps I have committed to to the end of June. I am almost 6 months ahead of schedule! WOW!!! I only have 9 Beeswax ATCs, a Kit Swap (all the bits sent to us, yet to arrive) and a couple of single ATC's for the competition at my monthly stamp meet. Not much at all really... I could even have them all knocked off by next week!

Here is the MOO card I completed for an ArtyOz swap. I found this very challenging - primarily because of the size - 2.8cm x 7cm (1.12" x 2.5" in the old language). Really, really small! Thankgoodness for the collections images I had floating around that were small enough to put on it. The background was a reject from the zetti back page because it was too dark.

This is an ATC for the PaperArts Yahoo group (of which I am a member) that had to use a peeled paper background. I really wanted to do something that was in a landscape format rather than portrait for a change - always working in the same paradigm tends to make my art a bit stuffy with a degree of "sameness". The image of the girls sitting on steps also lended itself to landscape format. I also used up some of my grungeboard (coloured with peeled paint distress ink pad) which I am enjoying using which is good considering how much I purchased! Grungeboard may be a feature on my work for a while!

(Cindy - I made an extra one of these for you, and it is on its way)

Real art has the capacity to make us nervous

2008-01-27T18:54:00.000+11:00

I finished the back of the Zetti page last night. I wanted to go with what I perceive as a Teesha Moore signature colour combination - yellow / red. I used one of my favourite Zetti stamps and a great quote from the Zetti line - "real art has the capacity to make us nervous":

I continues the doodle theme with white accents around the quote. All in all I am really pleased with this page (both sides actually!). I am looking forward to getting back an accordian book now, as I am very interested to see how others perceive/interperet this great (modern) artist's work.

As planned in yesterday's post I completed a 4-slide microscope mailer for another swap today. I have called it "weary winter". This is the front cover.

(the words along the top say "even in the long, weary winter;")

And the inside:

(the continuation of the quote is "Diana could find lovely flowers")

Like most of my arty fiddlings this was intended to be something else all together - I had located my Artchix "flirt" collage sheet (designed for microscope slides) and was going to go with a Parisian fashion theme.... so much for that!

I don't quite know how this one evolved, but I had a couple of images left from the front of the Zetti page (bet you wondered where you had seen her recently!), and her solemnity really appeals to me .... I also had bits of a blue artchix sheet that I "found" when I was tidying up my table the other day.... and the recent architecture tryptich made me rediscover some of my (large) collection of shrine & frame stamps. I also picked up the lumieres again after a bit of a break - must have been quite a long break as my blue halo gold was an ugly gluggy mess - and rediscovered what a great background they make on black gesso. I even did some embossing! The whole thing just sort of fell together. I hope that the recipient enjoys looking at it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Given the fairly average night on tv tonight I might tackle some ATC's , or even some MOO cards... will just have to see where the muse takes me!

WW2 in pastels & zettiology

2008-01-26T20:08:00.000+11:00

Well, as promised yesterday here are my WW2 / auto parts bin inspired baby cards:

In reality the only link here is the stencilled letters, but anything for a good headline!

I was quite productive today down at Monika's shop (Beachhouse Boulevard) - I managed to get pages for a Zettiology accordian book I am participating in almost completed. I am really pleased with the way they are coming along.

The background on this was really easy, and fun to do - based on a Tim Holtz technique. I used paint dabbers by adirondack - base coat (chilli pepper), when dry I clear embossed a Zetti house image on the top (to become the hat/crown) then I used a purple dabber, followed by a yellow one as a top coat. I "stripped" the yellow one with a huggies to get a more translucent look, and the embossed section was rubbed back so that the red showed through completely. Doodles in white & gold gel pen and gold krylon, dymo lettering and a zetti city-scape stamped on transparency along the bottom.

Tomorrow I am going to tackle ... microscope slide holders!!!!

till then fellow bloggers & blogettes

Name & Shame and Inspiration

2008-01-25T16:56:00.000+11:00

Weekly Name and Shame: -600g

not much BUT it is negative (must remember to focus on the positives here)

Stuff:

well, it has been a busy week getting out some client reports, entertaining at the tennis - I was sorry to see Serena go out, general work stuff and a DAY OFF TODAY!!!

so, what did I do on my day off you ask.... no art work yet, but there are still some hours left to redress that problem. What I did do was a bit of online shopping at artchix (they have some very nice new products ladies), food shopping and clean up my yard - back and front. Weeding, mowing whippersnippering etc. Doesn't the backyard look great:

(this great chair was a roadside find!!!)

I also managed to break my old garden rake today - but it is SO COOL, that I am thinking I will keep it and turn it into something???? no idea what, so any suggestions gratefully received (it could come with me in my grab-bag for the demeng class....)

Part of the reason I undertook some power gardening today was that I am feeling a little un-inspired after a pretty frantic 4 days at work. I *know* that I have 2 baby cards to make (probably 3 but one is so late now that it might be embarrassing to send - I'll just have to do extra well on his 1st birthday card), but I don't really know what to do... I am just a bit listless today.

So, in a last ditch attempt at procrastination ... I thought I would whip around the house looking through a lens at "stuff" to see if it would inspire me.

I love the red in this one - this is a closeup of the badge on my old kelvinator (chardy) fridge, it is so emotive - so very 50's....

This is a chook made from wire that lives in my herb patch - she is finally starting to get that beautiful blue/green patina on her body from being weathered. Just love that colour, but have no idea how to reproduce it with paint.....

Last but not least we have this:

I bought some old auto parts on e-bay last year, and the biggest surprise was these metal "bins" they arrived in. They seem very WW2-esque to me with the stenciled numbers starting to come off, and the metal beginning to look extremely battered. I can imagine that they have been thrown around in the back of an American serviceman's jeep whilst he was racing across open ground under fire to repair a tank! I think I feel some stencilling coming on.

These baby cards will probably be the most unusual ones new parents have ever received. I never thought about WW2 in pastel shades before!

I will post them up once complete so that you can see where this journey is going.

Inaugural Post & the "Year of Consistency"

2008-01-21T11:18:00.000+11:00

Well, this is the inaugural post of my blog - yay! One of my 20 or so new years' resolutions done, and I must say that it feels rather nice to have knocked 1 (and only 1) off. So, the idea here is that this will encourage the bigger 2 of the resolutions to be achieved.

Putting a twist on a quote from that very average film Field of Dreams:
If you build it they will come~ and the things you want will come to you.

The first is that I will lose 19kg. On this blog I will name and shame myself into losing weight. Posting my loss (or not) every week I am hoping will spur me on to sticking with my Jenny Craig weightloss program. so to kick things off, this week is my current (lets's call it starting) weight for the purposes of this exercise:

NAME AND SHAME: 94KG
(gulp it looks really big when I type it - and is foul for someone who is a mere 164cm)

The second resolution of import is that I will commit to art output this year, and not let work get in the way all the time. I found last year that the time I was committing to my art was so patchy that I was constantly restarting projects, and was completely ineffective. So 2008 marks the year of consistency for Liz.

To this end I have been quite prolific so far in 2008. I have committed to quite a lot of art projects and swaps, and have at the time of writing, completed everything due for March bar 1 (lonely single) ATC (Artist Trading Card).

This is a tryptich I finished off yesterday that I was rather pleased with. The theme is architecture. This is the tryptich closed. I LUURVE using rust paint, it is an absolute fave of mine:

And this is it open:

The arches from left to right say "plans", "window" and "balcony".

Thanks for taking the time!

~Liz