More supplies

One of my favorite people, Wendy J. invited people to her studio in Sacramento today and yesterday to pick up extra materials she was clearing out. Lots of rubber stamps, cigar boxes, altoid tins, etc. So, Bobbi G. and I went up and picked out some things and took Wendy to lunch. It was great seeing her again and Kate also. We had a good visit, a long chat on the ride, and came home with art materials. All, in all, a very fine day.

Post Christmas trip to coast

After the hullabaloo of the holidays some friends and I went to the beach house and made  art for a few days. The coast was cold but we  comfortable and cozy with a big pot of beans, french bread and a salad, plus the goodies the gals brought.

Christmas Eve Concert

I was just entertained by a chance concert performed with 5 tails wagging furiously - hitting the computer, bookcase, box, file cabinet and the chair I'm sitting on. Sounded like a drum corps. I have no idea why the 5 little dogs (I'm babysitting 3 of them) all dashed over here excitedly to serenade me, but it was great fun. You can see I'm easily entertained. LOL I always was a cheap date! Merry Christmas, one and all.

Here is Buddy with a new toy.

Ornaments ready for trees

My ornament project is finished (you heard it here). Here are some of the ornaments that are being disbursed among family members.

Sally and the Wackos

I joined the Wackos at Sally's today for a day of laughter, good food, and conversation. We made cut little accordion ornaments that Sally taught us, but mostly it was just a lovely day having fun with friends. The cat is Sally's Scampers. A cat that is living a very good life!

ZNE Holiday Crafts Show

Bobbi G. and I headed off this a.m. with my incredible new friend, Faith. Faith is my GPS companion and got us there and back without a hitch. Bobbi named her for me. Anyway back to the ZNE show - it was in Pleasanton which is an hour away. We lucked out, traffic was light, but unfortunately customer count at their event was even lighter.

Ornaments

I've been wanting to make ornaments for my sister-in-law's tree for years. Probably over a decade. My idea was to use photos of all of us as children, as Christmas is really for children. I was only going to do cutouts and mount them, but at the last moment I found this beautiful paper at Joanne's, made by K&CoMPANY. I just had to have a reason to use them, so these two samples are almost done. They will hang from glittery silver chenille stems inserted through eyelets in top corners. You get the idea. One photo is of two nephews and a niece, the other is my brother and myself. I'll post others later on. I'm still cutting and gluing.

If you know me at all you know I'm not a glittery kinda gal. But, it's Christmas and everything seems to just call out for glitter this year. I've been in the shops and stores, and it finally just rubbed off on me.

Get off the road! I'm warning you!

Trevor got his driving learner's permit today. Passed the written test with no problem. Now he needs 6 hours with driver trainer, and 50+ hours with his dad. I'm not ready for this.

Nathan came up to see if I had a tennis racket. Not likely! But, I often surprise them when they want something I seem to find it somewhere. He played tennis with a friend and now has the bug. Good. That will be great for him.

This is a picture of Trevor, Nathan and Candis.
Ready to drive?

Candis Day

Candis celebrated her 12th birthday with a party at the local pizza/gaming place. She had a good turnout and everyone had a blast. Speaking of blasts, one picture is of the birthday girl and friend about to blast off in some space flight simulator - a very scary ride.

For good measure I'm throwing in a pic of Candis and me some years back. Time sure flies.

Friday in Sutter Creek

Friends celebrating Sally's birthday (a bit late) met in Sutter Creek from all different directions for tea, walk, talk and shop. All women know what a fun day that can be. We had rain the night before and a cold snap, so our plans for dressing up went by the wayside for the most part, but a few of us made a few concessions to our surroundings by sporting very fashionable scarves, skirts, pins, gloves, and blouses. The tea was at Tea Eras. Here are some pics of the food before and after. You can tell we enjoyed it.

What day is it, and where am I?

Another whirlwind week ended with a wonderful afternoon tea with the mixed media group in Sacramento. We had about 15 people attending this year. Our group is THRIVING!!! Susanne, our hostess had the house looking beautiful and elegant, and was the perfect hostess. She makes it all look so simple and relaxed. Having a pot-luck brought out the best in everyone. We had such a wonderful assortment of delicious tidbits. And our gift exchange was delightful. Everyone went away with some new original art, in one form or another. We welcomed some new members that had recently come on board, and they fit right into the group. It's so nice to be a part of a group with little structure. We pride ourselves in being friendly and nurturing, and not having cliques that exclude people. But, along the way we have made new friends and that is a very special blessing. Here are some photos of the tea and guests.

Grandson of John Muir passes

John Muir Hanna, son of Wanda Muir Hanna who was John Muir's first daughter, passed away last Saturday. There is a tribute to John Hanna on the Sierra Club website for those that are interested. Here is a pic I took of Him with his son Bill at UOP a couple years back. My sympathy goes to his family, along with my respects for him.

Rain today

Our long awaited winter made a brief appearance today. It is raining outside. So, here's my tribute to winter.

This is Buddy in front, with Suzie behind him. They are keeping my chair and my blanket warm, hoping I'll come join them and watch a little TV.

Out and about - again

Do you get the feeling I spend a lot of time out and about? It's the season. There is just so much to see and do. Yesterday was an outing to San Andreas and Angel's Camp with Cat and Sally.
Our destination was Ace Hardware in AC. I don't know why, but it is their tradition to make the most splendid holiday display - ornaments, decorated trees, the works. Cat had already scoped it out and said we just had to see it to believe it. And even after seeing it, I'm not sure I believe it. It was the most lush, full, diverse showing of Christmas decorations I have seen. And I've been to Filoli Gardens, San Francisco, and all around over the years enjoying the season's eye candy. But this really is the best.

Today Candis and I went out to Micke Grove Park for their fund raiser, with all the buildings decorated with trees and garlands, lots of activities, and fun things going on. We went to see some friends who were showing their artwork there. Here are some pics from Cat's living room (the tree topper), Sally looking at decorations, and the artist group including Gloria, Jean, Frances and John.

Happy Holidays

Inspired by the Christmas trees we saw at Ironstone Vineyards. I bought a little scraggly Charlie Brown  tree.  I wish I could hum Christmas carols for you.

Pre-Thanksgiving outing

Ironstone Vineyard outside of Murphys was the destination for a little outing to see the decorated Christmas trees. Here are a few pics. We also did some shopping at Enchanted Cottage in town. Cat, Gin, and Joan and I made up the group. Lots of fun, and weather was spendid, plus we had the best turkey, dressing, cranberry and onion sandwiches at the winery.

Wild child

Candis and I were goofing around with camera, this is our fav shot with a little help fro Photoshop.

Favorite shopping and browsing

Here are pictures of a favorite place to wander around and browse on Soquel Avenue, South of Santa Cruz. The name of the place is Wisteria, and it is very hard to find. Someone in Stockton told me it was in Capitola near Gail's Bakery. So, the very first chance I had, I headed for Capitola and directly to Gail's. No one knew about Wisteria, so I went to the gallery there and then to several other places, and kept asking. No success! I was heartbroken. So, I headed over to Soquel Avenue on the way back to La Selva, and stumbled across the little sign and turned into the driveway. Well, it was worth the wait. And to my surprise, an old friend is the manager there. (Hi Carolyn!) This was a few years ago, and it is a regular stopping spot when I'm on the coast. I usually buy a few little plants or other things, as it is also a nursery. Lots of nice paths to wander through and you just never know what will be around the next corner. These photos are of my favorite spots. It is not decorated for Christmas yet, so I may have to go back again.

Fabric Covered Board Books

I've had some questions about how the board books were done. So, here is a very brief explanation.
What you need:
Board book, any size.
Fabrics of your choice.
Glue (I prefer Aileen's Tacky Glue)
Scissors
Sponge Brush
Deli wrap sheets, or wax paper

Here's what you do:
(Unlike most ways of covering the pages, you do not need to sand or prime them with gesso.)

1. Select your fabrics and determine your layout.
2. Tear or cut your fabrics to be about 1/2 inch larger than the pages to be covered.
3. Run a bead of glue around the page and all over it.
4. With sponge brush spread out the Tacky glue so the board page is covered thinly and completely. Make extra sure to get plenty along the edges. (Don't waste time here, as it sets up quickly. If you don't want to work fast, then go to a slower drying glue, like Elmer's or similar that will dry clear.)
5. Lay on your fabric starting at one side and rolling it on the rest of the page. Smooth it out with your free hand as you do this. Then go back and rub all over the page to set the fabric into the glue. As a precaution, place a sheet of wax paper or deli wrap between pages after they are glued. That way you can keep working and be assured they will not stick together.
6. As you add fabrics you will note the binding may need loosening. If so, just take your scissors or a craft knife and cut right up the back of the spine. Cut away the flaps that remain.
7. To cover the covers, you can either (a) use a piece of fabric large enough to cover both the front and the back, plus the spine, or (b) you can cover each piece with a separate piece of fabric.
7.a. For method (a) - use the same technique for covering the covers with glue as you did with the other pages. Start with either the front or back. When fabric is attached, next put glue on the spine and roll the fabric over it carefully working it into the glue. Then turn it over and continue on the other cover.
7.b. Use the basic method of adhering fabric to the page, one at a time. A strip of fabric can be attached to the spine either overlapping the front and back fabrics, or under them. It's a design choice. Sometimes I cut the back fabric long enough to wrap the spine and overlap the front cover. There is no right or wrong way.
8. Now you can go in and add artwork. Images, rubber stamps, words, and embellishments can be added, just as with other forms of altered books. This will personalize it and make it your own piece of art. Gel mediums, Zots (adhesive dots), or more of the tacky glue can be used to adhere things.

Any questions, you can email me at momzart101@yahoo.com

Matt and Chris at RadioZone Halloween Event

http://www.radiozone.com/pages/1154151.php?imageGalleryXRefId=326645

That's the url. Here's the pic.

Where did October go?

It just zoomed by. Now we have had our second day of valley fog. Yesterday it cleared by 11:00, today looks thicker and I don't know if we will see sunshine at all. This is when I light candles during the day and turn on the lights - because I hate grey and gloom! I want light! And shades of yellow! I've been getting ready for the La Selva Show. Have started having lunch with friends routinely on Wed. and then a little shopping at the quilt fabric store (you should see what I got) and lots of laughter and fun. The big zine project for MMANC (mixed media group in Sac) is done. That took some time and thought also. Here are my pages.

Halloween project

My son competes at the big Halloween event at Cal Expo. This year, in addition to his wonderful Wizard costume, he added a new twist to the staff he carries. He mounted a dragon on it, illuminated the eyes in the skull, and carried battery packs to illuminate the globe. Here is what it looked like. The grey version is before I painted it and before he added the eyes. It was a lot of fun collaborating with him. Nathan painted the staff to look like wood. It was actually foam over PVC pipe with masking tape wrapping it and in layers to look like bark. He used two shades of brown paint and black. This is the first time Nathan has been in on the painting. Next year, if Matt chooses something else to have painted, I think Nathan is ready to take over my part, with just a little advice and selecting materials.