Numbers Book Bound

Today I ran to school to drop off all of the great donations I had accumulated and met up with Ayesha and Deb to bind our numbers books! This book is the best Frenzy Book swap yet!


After picking up our last paycheck of the fiscal year and saying goodbye to our retiring principal we headed out to have lunch at the stirfy place near school. (Deb and I love it and Ayesha humors us every now and then.) As fate would have it Ayesha left today to go home for almost 3 weeks, Deb leaves tomorrow heading home as well, and I leave on Wednesday for a little vacation with Jim. Deb and I will both be back in less than a week but needed to get one last dose of Ayesha before we all went on vacation. It is a little funny how we all scheduled vacations leaving at the same time.

Happy VooDoo

I bough a copy of Happy VooDoo Gris Gris at Frenzy the last time Kelly was in town. (She told me I needed it and it was true!) This book was totally inspiring but I wasn't sure what exactly I was going to do until a recent trip to Ikea with Ayesha. I found these magnificent glass candle lanterns for only $3.95 and this cool light up floral wreath for only $1.99! (I love Ikea!)

This afternoon I finally made my Happy VooDoo dream come true! I am taking all of these lovely lanterns and the floral wreath to school to hang in the studio. I have these huge gorgeous windows that they will look lovely hanging in even without a candle! Like most art, they are a little hard to see in a photograph but are fabulous in person.

Your Daily Dose Of Randomness

First, Holly Cow my last post had a lot of typos! Don't worry it's all under control now! (I think.)

For several hours last night and this morning I sorted through all the donations I mentioned earlier. I had grand plans of taking pictures of this huge sorting mess that never happened. The sort was mostly tidy! I did get a photo of the mounds of paper I was sorting by color. It makes me so happy to have it organized by color and besides I got to touch each and every piece!



While I was putting away my newly inherited supplies I decided to do a little cleaning myself and rounded up a bag full of crayons, markers, and colored pencils that the kids would use more than me and some crazy edged scissors too! The organizing bug has definitely bit!

I got an order in the mail a few days ago from Hannah Grey Curiosities & Drygoods. I had a fun time looking around this Internet shop and found a few things I couldn't live without. I especially love the tiny brass skull & cross bones! I could not believe how delicate they were and I got 10 for only $1! What a deal. The shipping info. on the website is very accurate. It took my order just over 10 business day s to reach me but their was great communication along the way so I knew I wasn't forgotten. If you see something you love order it now so It'll be there for your next project. :)



I also got a teeny little phone stamp in the mail just yesterday and was able to finish up my yellow inchies. That's right, it's the yellow pages baby!

Fun At Frenzy

I woke up early this morning partially in excitement to swap the numbers pages, partly due to dog barking but, I had to get to work. I had two chunky books to bind. First, the Art Unraveled Chunky book. Second, an extra chunky book my mom had given me from a kinetics swap she was in.


Then it was off to Frenzy after picking up Deb and my mom. After swapping out all the pages I met with the ABC girls and exchanged our ATCs. A turned out to be both for Asian and Acetate. B for Buttons, Bingo cards, birds and bling! This is going to be such a cool swap! I can't wait to add these ATCs to my rounder!


Of course I HAD to do a little shopping before the show and tell part of the swap started. I love, love, love this owl stamp! I might have shreeked when I saw it- yes out loud!


The numbers chunky book was amazing! Tons of high quality pages. (I'll share more when I bind this book which will be very soon.)

A few of us went over to The Food Bar for lunch and then one of the ABC girls gave my mom and I tons of stuff that she had cleaned out of her studio. She told us to see if their was anything we wanted and the rest could be donated to my school studio. OH MY GOODNESS! Their was tons of great stuff for us and plenty for the kids too!

This has been a great donation week for school! One of my mom's other friends donated a gazillion sheets of 12 x12 scrapbook paper and doodads too! I love sorting through art supplies to share withthe kids! I'm sure their will be more on the sort soon!

Check Out These Inchies!

I had time to finish up three more sets of inchies! I mostly just labeled them today. I started working on them last night. First, and my most favorite are the black and white. It's hard to tell but they each have a tiny mirror in the center. Also, the paterened paper in the center is actually tape! I love using decorative tape!


The second set are circles or dot inchies. I had these cool stickers stuck down on a project gone bad . It was fun to cut it up into something wonderful.


Finally, I have my set of lucky green!


Inchies are so fun to do. I still can't believe how quickly I can get a quality set done and how much I love them!

B is for Bentley Who Has Bad Behavior!

I left my house for less than two hours and returned to find this little pile of nothing that once was my ABC ATCs that are due TOMORROW!



Let's just say I was not happy! Bentley likes to be an art helper only she does not understand that she is not helpful! This is her saying she is sorry. (You can tell because she is not looking at you.)


I had to remake the cards salvaging what I could and pulling out tons of materials. I'm not sure why making art is fun but remaking art is just annoying. I am happy withthe way the new ATCs turned out.


I have started adding my cards to my 7 Gypsies ATC holder that, after much consideration, will house the cards for this swap. I am excited about how it is looking and this is only the beginning.



Now I can finally go back to the other projects I was going to work on this morning. Just posting this makes it a LITTLE less irritating.

More Inchies

I've finished two more sets of inchies! The first set is for the numbers swap. A tiny numbered card, numbers on the tiny dice, and I added these cute little "poker chips" just for charm.


The second set is for the word swap. I fell in love with these typewriter keys and had to use them!


Inchies are very addicting! I am getting each set done quickly and ideas keep coming to me for more. I think the hard part will be waiting to swap them!

Creativity Resumes

I've had so many posts in a row dealing very little with art that even I was beginning to wonder where my priorities were. :) I was dreaming about making ATC cards last night and sprung into action this morning.

These ATC's are for a small swap with only 3 players. Our idea was to make an ATC for each letter in the alphabet as it pertains to art supplies, materials, and tools. We will be making 2 letters each month so for July I selected Alcohol Ink for A, and Brads for B. I am putting a random ATC stamp on the backs along with the definition of the featured item and a sticker letter. (The sticker letters you see here are clear so they may be hard to see.



After attending my ATC swap this morning I started working on the inchies for the next Frenzy Swap. Inchies are 1" square of art. Why would you make 1" squares of art you ask? They are lovely on cards, necklaces, or as embellishments but are really the most dramatic when grouped and framed with their friends. You can check out Debby's framed store sample here! I did my largest set first-27 letter S inchies. I will trade for the entire alphabet!



I still have 15 more set to make so you'll be seeing a lot more inchies here.

The Start of Friday Fieldtrips

Summer is here but I have still been working Monday-Thursday teaching summer school, meeting with my new traveling art teacher, and I will be working on art curriculum next week for the district office. (I love curriculum-seriously! Just another of my quirky traits.) I also found out this week that I'll have additional responsibilities for the art department next year that will also require some summer work. I love all of these opportunities but I am also enjoying having Friday's off.

At the same time, my mom is watching Baby Kakes this summer because, "She'll never be this small again," which lead to the first Friday fieldtrip! I went to visit Mom and Kakes today and suggested we venture to Paradise Bakery for lunch. I think we all thought of it as a big adventure because this was the first time we ventured out together with out Buffy. We had a blast! Yes, it was just lunch but we were all in such a good mood and it seemed like a huge adventure!



With the combination of the heat (114 today!) and the adventure I think we were all ready for a nap by the end!

Project Purple Highlights

If you are a frequent visitor of my blog you may know that from time to time Girls night out can be a little unexpected. Last night Ayesha, Deb and I met up with Shannon in Mesa. First we had a little dinner at a super cute place called Mango's Mexican Cafe and Bakery. (I didn't see anything baking.) Then we went to Nielson's Frozen Custard, one of my all time favorites!


Ayesha said, gasp, it tasted like frozen yogurt. If you read the reviews in the link above, however, you will find others that agree with me! I was known to drive all the way to Mesa frequently 94 lbs. ago for this divine treat!

Next, on to the unexpected... Ayesha had an appointment to get purple highlights in her hair with the fabulous Laurie Lash! Ayesha had been waithing for these highlights for a long time now but waited until summer for the adventure. Because her hair is so dark it had to be lightened first. Naturally I had to get a picture to document the event!



Next stop purple highlights! Wow, now that's fun! It's actually subtle because Ayesha's hair is so dark. It almost requires a double take. We all love it! Plus it makes another great girls night out story!



P.S. I skyped with Sara tonight! Yay Skype!

Skype!

Ayesha introduced me to Skype probably a month ago and said, "It will change your life if you let it!" It cracked me up at the time but really it's amazing! Just imagine talking to anyone anywhere in the world and feeling like they are sitting just across from you!

On the night she demoed it for me we Skyped with Tyler in Michigan, poor guy. He had to listen to me say "This is crazy," about 100 times and I kept telling Ayesha, "It's like he's sitting right here," even though he could hear me.

Tonight Ayesha and I practiced using Skype for the first time. Remembering Ayesha's trip home coming up soon I made her promise to practice with me. I couldn't go for weeks without contact and why just talk on the phone when you can have a face to face chat, and for free non the less. We had fun looking at etsy together, and I even showed her a project I had made for a friend. Best of all she could hear all of Jim's commentary about our conversation and participate in all the dog barking nonsense. :)

If your computer has a camera you should definitely try out Skype. Downloading the software is free and remember, "It can change your life if you let it!"

Bowling State

Today was Jim's assigned day to bowl the state tournament in Tucson. He was bowling team, individual, and pairs all today. That's a lot of bowling in one day! I woke up at 3:45 and we were on the road just before 5:00 to be to Tuscon in time for the first event.

I always have a lot of fun at bowling tournaments. Not a lot of wives usually go to tournaments as most people have a limit of time they are willing to spend in a bowling alley in one day. I on the other hand am always worried that I will miss something if I don't go. I am also happy to take along a few interesting activities to tun in and out of the tournament as I see fit. Today I finished my Girly Girl ATC's for next weekends swap, finished reading Happy VooDoo Gris Gris, read the entire issue of Cloth Paper Scissors Studios special edition, and most of the Spring 2008 Artful Blogging. It was nice to catch up on so much good reading I've been meaning to get to.


The highlight of the trip was that we discovered Tucson still has Eegee restaurants. I was ecstatic! If you have never met Eegee's it is a sandwich shop that serves fries basically but the best is the Eegee. An Eegee is a tasty frozen slushy that you eat with a spoon. Occasionally you'll find a small fruit chunk if you are lucky. But you are bound to end up with a colorful mouth!



I should also say Happy Father's Day! Right this minute my dad is in the middle of a motorcycle ride to Alaska and back! He is in Alaska today, heading home soon. You can see his blog about his adventures here.

Last but not least, Happy Birthday Buffy! My little sister turned 30 today I can't believe it!

One More D-back Conversation

I thought of one more hilarious conversation that Jim and I had with the boys at the game. Jim has been known to headbutt me from time to time. Not a knock you out kind of headbutt more like a remember I'm here headbutt. Remember, boys play much rougher than girls. :) Anyway, Jim was beginning to headbutt me at the game, luckily I moved just in time to avoid this one. Unluckily, the kid in front of us saw the attempt and said to Jim in disbelief, "Did you just try to headbutt her?" Of course Jim replied, "Oh yeah" I just smiled to assure him it was really okay and We are still laughing about it.

The Diamondback Adventure

Ayesha decided about a month ago that we NEEDED to go to a Diamondback game together. After Jim and Ayesha did a little research we discovered that the games that fell on Friday nights for the month of June had a firework show following the game. I am on the cheesy side about fireworks (Actually, my friends would probably argue that I fall on the cheesy side about most everything) so this was a huge bonus to me. We decided to go to last nights game...Friday the 13th.

Deb, Ben, and Ben's friend Ben, met Ayesha, Jim and I for the game. We had the best time ever ! Here are the highlights...

Fry's has this give away at each Diamondbacks game where people stand up with their Fry's card wave it and jump around to win a gift card to the store. Deb and Jim were joking around about it before the game and when Deb noticed the give away starting she passed her Fry's card down to Jim. He immediately stood up waved the card above his head with little enthusiasm and in a normal voice staring saying, "Oh yeah, over here, I'm your Fry's guy." The girls and I were dying laughing. The best part was that he kept this up until a winner was actually selected.


A Few innings into the game we noticed the kids sitting in front of us were beginning to find our conversations very interesting and being the teachers that we are we engaged them in conversation. Jim was predicting the kids favorite baseball players and before long Jim had gone to get them all star voting ballots. The best part was although Jim was trying to persuade them how to vote all three of the kids were voting for their own personal favorites. At one point one of the boys turned around and told Jim, "I really like your singing." Talk about adoration.


Later when a lady gave the ids a bag of cotton candy she had acquired for free it was only natural that they offered to share.



After the Diamondbacks hit a homerun in the 10th inning of overtime it was time for the fireworks! It was an awesome show that was set to music from classic horror films and Thriller of course!



Ayesha, Jim and I ended the night with a stop at Denny's. It was after 10 and Jim and Ayesha hadn't really eaten anything for dinner and part of being a good driver is getting your passengers safely to Denny's prior to getting them safely home.: ) Denny's was hillarious and the perfect ending to our night!

All Tied Up

Today I tied all of the completed covers for the Frenzy Stamper Chunky Book Swap! WOOHOO! I love them but are happy they are done and I can't wait to swap them.


Speaking of all tied up, I got two super cute rings I have been dying to get from an etsy seller named Curly Girl Glass. I LOVE her art work. The first one is the sweetest bow ever. It will be perfect to wear when I need to remember something. :)


The second one is oh so cool. Not right for just anyone but perfect for me! (Jim is sure I am going to hurt him with it. I promised never to wear it to bed.) It is so cool on. It looks just like a little star perched on my finger.


I'd recommend following the link above to check out these lovely rings in a bigger size. I'll warn you though, you might fall in love with something while you are there.

Details. Details. Details

I've been busy working on all the little details for the chunky book covers. First, I stamped the back of the front cover. Next, I added a rivet to the front cover.


Then I added jump rings to number tiles that my mom drilled holes in, made tiny skull bead dangles, and stamped a tiny metal rimmed tags randomly with a date stamp. I also rounded up zip ties and metal numbers.


But, where's all this going??? Tada! The covers are finished! I just need to add my name label and wrap tie them up for a cute presentation.


In the middle of all this I also did my final spread for the round robin I have been participating in. It was my mom's book with a house theme.


P.S. Happy Birthday Mom!

Number Chunky Book Covers 3

To get a grungy look my next step was to add a very thin layer of black tempera to the copper acrylic.

The effect of this is a little easier to see when one with tempera is beside one without.


I knew making these covers would be a little labor intensive but after giving each of the 27 fronts and 27 backs two layers each my arm actually hurt. Stay tuned for next steps.