More Little Treasures

One of the ATC swaps I am participating in is themed:  "Wake Up and Smell The Coffee".  Well, I ask you now, could I actually NOT do this one????  Hardly!!  It had my name all over it!  I had a ton of fun with these.  The back"grounds"  (lol....get it???....."grounds"....oh my) I made from used coffee filters which I tore, let dry and then cleaned off.  I was hoping for the coffee aroma to remain but alas....no such luck!  Bummer!  Some of them have pieces of Caribou Coffee bits on them. Caribou Coffee is like our regional coffee house. All I know is that they are closer than Starbucks....which on some days is a definite advantage!  The metal bits are from a coffee flavored energy drink can Wil came across when she was here this spring. That is drink is named Java Monster.  Sounds like me before I get my first cup in the mornings!  One has stamps on it that I made with an actual coffee bean....Italian Roast to be exact!  So...enjoy while I go grab a cup of coffee!!

"Java Monster"

(Savor every sip)

"Life Is Short"

(This is the tag line for Caribou Coffee)

"Caribou Coffee"

(Just a little "shout out" for the locals!)

"Coffee Java"

Little Treasures

I think ATCs are so wonderful when you just need a bit of something creative to do.  I'm in several swaps and am just under the wire on a couple of them due to circumstances.  But I have completed them and here they are!  These are for a Birthday ATC Swap.  There are about 30 people in the group so everyone on their birthday (or at least clost to it) receives about 30 little greetings from all over the world!  I so enjoyed savoring each one in March!  Here are the ones I did for the June, July and August birthdays.  Also, in case I mentioned it so long ago no one remembers......I have also set myself the additional challenge to theme each month.  I check out an online calendar that lists all the special themes for each month.  So...here goes.

June - Roses Month

"A Rose by Any Other Name"

July - Ice Cream Month

"We All Scream for Ice Cream"

August - Water Quality Month

"Cool Clear Water"

There is more to come...perhaps even later today!  So check back with me, OK?

Fun Stuff From The Past Month!

FINALLY!!! I am getting to post about all the fun stuff we did when Wil was here! Always a fun time of "playing" in the studio!

First is a pounded fabric piece. (Ahhh the patience needed for this one! Good character building actually I guess)

Then a couple of sunprints. On the purple one I used the plastic rings from milk containers and some river rocks. The picture is actually of the piece all ironed and smooth. The "wrinkles" were made when doing the sunprinting.

This one I used rice and salt. This one is also ironed.

I had never done any splatter painting so one day we took the paints and fabric outside to play. We had picked up a tile covered little breakfast type table for free on the side of the road just up the street. It was PERFECT for these projects because we didn't care if it got paint on it or got left out in the rain. These were lots of fun and I really like the results.

Next we did some ice cube dyeing. We used some dye that I had still in leftover from a previous project. All mixed with water but no soda ash. Thought it would be interesting to see how much "oomph" it still had. Not too bad really!! Especially considering some of it had been quite diluted for the original dyeing session. Another patience builder but this on is only overnight! The fun of it is that when the dye is frozen in the ice cube trays you can't tell what colors are in which cube! Always a surprise! I love that!

Then I wanted to do some more breakdown printing. (I must have a need to build patience come to think of it....this one requires waiting 3 days or so for the thickened dye to dry on the screen! No instant gratification there!) These started out as red and purple I think...but ended up a bit more on the red side actually. A bit too much on the red/pink side for my taste but they are so beautiful and textured I know they will be awesome either overdyed or as a background for some other technique! I just love the urban-ness of them. Totally different from my love of outdoors and nature. Funny how that works, huh? I am posting them below in order of the printings I did. The first one is the lightest because not that much of the dried thickened dye comes off in the first pass. They get progressively darker.

I've been busy this month getting some things ready to sell (at least hopefully sell!) So, now...back to the "grindstone"!!

Nurturing Creativity - Week 27

Didn't post this earlier because I got tired of posting just words! But just after this one I'll be posting those pictures of the fun stuff I did while Wil was here!

The card this week:

Live With It

The idea is to surround yourself with art...in your home, office, studio, car or anywhere! This one is not to difficult for me. My first adventure into the creative side (after a long stint working with the left brain) was in decorating our home. Come to think of it...that is also when I really got into reclaiming and recycling found objects. Found many things dumpster diving, garage sales and thrift stores. Even found a couch on the side of the road with a FREE sign on it once...won't be doing that again. It ended up that it smelled something awful! Ended up having to pay our garbage company to come pick it up! So much for FREE! Thankfully though, most of my "finds" were much more of a positive experience.

OK, now on to loading some pictures for the next post in just a few minutes!