Spelling

I realized that my last blog had some spelling errors in it. I fixed the errors but it was after I published the blog. So that meant that everyone who subscribes to it read the version with the mistakes.

I fell asleep last night fretting about it and woke up this morning wondering how many people think I'm an uneducated fool.

This little mini update is to apologize for sending a sloppy blog and promising that I will try my best to make sure I PROOF READ and spell check in the future.

I'll be back later on today with some free graphics of polymer clay that you can use (if you'd like)!

Downtown excursion and making clay

For years I've wanted to go to the John K. King's Used and Rare book store in Detroit. I've passed the building hundreds of times and wondered what great books I might find inside, but it wasn't until yesterday that I finally ventured down there.

My good friend Phil drove Mary Ann and I. From my house it took 18 minutes, almost as fast as going to my local library. Parking was limited; we got the last parking spot in the lot. I was told the building was an old glove factory. Proof of that is on a rubber mat by the front door. It says advanced glove company, with an imprint of a glove. There are boxes of free books located near the entrance and two sets of marble steps that lead to the main floor. Although there are 4 floors, I stayed on the main floor for two reasons. One, it was sensory overload for us. Two, my knees were killing me. I could have taken the elevator, but I was too overwhelmed by the amount of books.

I spent most of my time in the children's book section. I found several books I wanted, but settled on one, called "Day In and Day Out". It's an Alice and Jerry book. (similar to Dick and Jane). I love these books. I love the innocence of the children, the family values, the illustrations. The graphics are wonderful.


I found Thoreau's Walden, but it was priced $8.50 and the text was difficult to read. I can buy a new version for the same price at Borders, so I passed on that choice. I did find Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" priced at $2.50. I saw the movie version "The Haunting" when I was 10 or 11 and it was probably the scariest movie I'd ever seen. I saw it again when I was in my 30s. I was up late, lying on the couch. It was so scary I was paralyzed with fear, too terrified to get up and run to bed. I own the movie now, and it's not so scary when you've seen it 20 times, but it still has it moments. The beginning sentence of the story goes like this..

."No live organism can continue for long to exist sanely under conditions of absolute reality; even larks and katydids are supposed, by some, to dream. Hill House, not sane, stood by itself against its hills, holding darkness within; it had stood so for eighty years and might stand for eighty more. Within, walls continued upright, bricks met neatly, floors were firm, and doors were sensibly shut; silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone."

Reading that sentence gave me goosebumps. I think it's because it's so well written. It's so wonderfully creepy.



I found some magazines from the 50s that were perfect for collage and clip art, but they weren't marked. The cashier had to call the owner who priced them at $5 and $20. I wasn't happy with those prices, or the fact that the magazines weren't priced. However, I admit that I think if I would have more money, or if they would have taken a check, I would have purchased them. When I go back, I'm going to check them out again. I wonder if his price will stay the same.

After spending almost two hours wandering around the main floor, I finally bought my two little books, knowing that I'll return. I found a set of 6 volumes of great children's stories and graphics. It was published in the 1920s and the entire set was $125.00. It's on my wish list now. I want that set!

On the way out of the building I grabbed two books. One called Stay Slim for Life. My mom used to have this book and would make diet recipes from it. I couldn't resist it.



Another book I took for free was the 1952 Who's Who in America. I only wanted it because it has over 2500 pages of tiny print that will look great in collage and ATCs. My favorite actor has always been James Cagney, and I found a little snippet about him. on page 370. I can see myself using the pages of this book for all kinds of art projects.


If you love to collect books, I would recommend visiting King's book store. They don't accept checks but do take credit cards and bank cards. I think I will have to visit many times before I feel comfortable enough to really wander around the massive store. It's a bit unorganized, has an eclectic atmosphere (that includes the customers), made me sneeze a few times and probably has something you are looking for.

What did Debbie make today?

I had a very productive day today. I made four cake toppers and 5 clay babies. I've scanned a few of my babies to show you. I said I would show you daily what I've done, but I have to admit, it's very time consuming to take the pictures, upload them, crop them, etc. It's faster to scan them today, even though the images are not the greatest. I'll have pictures of the toppers later.



PS...if you are reading this in your email, I apologize for the spelling errors. I've since fixed them.

Top Ten Resolutions

Dare I write about my New Year's Resolutions? Is it expected? Does anyone but me really care? If I tell everyone what my resolutions are, via this blog, am I held to those resolutions? If I share them with you and then fail, can I be truthful and admit it? I think the beauty of a blog is that I imagine I'll be held accountable, and I like that. It's the incentive I need to stick to my promises to myself. If I say them out loud (or write them for all to see), then I will try harder to live up to my word. I feel a sense of responsibility towards my readers to stay on course. That being said, here are some resolutions that I'm going to work towards.

1. Fresh blogging. This is something that I really want to achieve. When I miss a few days of blogging and then see that a follower from British Columbia, or St. Petersburg, or Leiden, Zuid-Holland has dropped in several times to read my blog, I'm disappointed in myself that the blog is a few days old. I worry that it could be the last time that reader comes to visit. So I resolve to write daily or every other day. Even if it means going to bed a little later or rising a little earlier, I'm going to write.
2. Daily creativity. Whether it's making something from polymer clay, creating a collage, or designing something in photoshop, I want to stop wasting time and start creating more! I will post my daily creativity here! (oh boy!!)
   
3. Building the cake topper business. I made the decision that I will continue with my cake toppers. My plan is to build the business on etsy and ebay and add more information to my website. I read that approximately 5 million brides and grooms get married each year in the United States and that it's a 50 billion dollar a year industry. I need to keep making my cake toppers! (wedding business)
4. Chair exercising. I have bad arthritis in my knees and a bone spur behind my knee, so I've become more sendentary. I read about a great way to exercise where you sit in a chair, listen to dance music and have a workout. It's been designed for older adults, people with diabetes, wheel-chair pound persons, etc. There can't be any excuses for me with something as low impact as sitting and exercising! (chair exercises)
5. Make more, spend less. I want to have more money for myself. I want to pay less to cable, and gas and electric. I would rather hold on to my money in my pocket, go to the beach more often, or buy myself art supplies than hand it over to the cable company or Utilities. So I've reduced costs already and hopefully, in the future, I'll be able to tell.
6. Simplify. Part of my resolution to spend less. I want to think twice before I buy something. (Do I really need another $5.00 worth of scrapbooking paper when I already have 100's of sheets?)
   
7. Organize. How original. It's probably on everyone's list. But, it's one of my greatest flaws and I have to keep chipping away at my messes. Every time I clean out a box or a closet I find art supplies or craft products, make-up and accessories and even sometimes, money. It pays to get organized!
8. Be happy. I'm pretty happy now and I want to stay that way.
9. Stop and smell the roses. For the longest time now, I've lived my life to savor the small moments: To take a deep breath of autumn leaves, to let the warm summer wind blow on my face, to listen to the gurgling rush of river as it flows behind my house. I've never needed much more than that to feel complete contentment. Anything better than that is icing on my cake. Thoreau said, That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest.
10. Build and maintain good relationships. I want to surround my self with positive friends and family. I want to distance myself from negativity and dysfunction. I want to inspire myself and others to make the best of ourselves. Life's too short to be miserable.
    
    
    There's my list. It's all about improving myself and living my life the way I want to live it.

To start out my resolutions, here's a picture that I painted for my living room. It's a collage, 10 inches by 10 inches.

Now that Christmas is over and New Year's is approaching, I find that I have TIME now to do some things that I've been meaning to do.

I cleaned my clay room yesterday and although it is much more organized, I still have a lot of boxes of "stuff" that I need to take care of.

Stuff. You might be wondering what I'm talking about. It's amazing really. I opened one box yesterday and it was full of Computer plugs, wires, cords and an old keyboard. I have been pushing this box around my clay room for three years and haven't used a thing in it for longer, but I still can not bare to throw it out. I think I'm going to have my boyfriend look through it and take what he thinks is valuable and I'll toss the rest.

In another box, I found a cross section of the following...stickers, scissors, a spoon, and old sock, unbaked clay, baked clay, beads, lipstick, old ribbon, wire, some miniature cups, a picture of my x-husband and I on our wedding day, an expired check, a brand new candle, post it notes, markers, crayons, old paint brushes, new paint brushes, a bungee cord, and computer print outs (how to be organized)..

I have about 7 of these boxes stacked in my room. They are 18 gallon storage totes, and they all have the same assortment of "stuff". Most of the stuff is good too. I've found embossing and metallic powders, ink pads, scrapbook papers, tags, paint, glue sticks, hundreds of beads, and every kind of art supply imaginable. Everytime I attempt to clean out a box, I get so overwhelmed, I push the lid back on and save it for another day. (Did I tell you I have aadd,

Adult Attention Deficit Disorder:)

No one has officially told me that, (my therapist suggested it once), but I fit a lot of the criteria and it makes sense to me.))

So, today I'm going to attempt to empty one box. I'll let you know how that goes.


The good news is that my work table is completely cleaned off. There is not one thing on my desk at this moment and I'm ready to start working on a few things. I have four cake toppers that I plan on finishing before New Year's and I'm working on Valentine's day couples. I finished a hippie Cake topper a few weeks ago and here's a picture of it. It's the second Hippie Wedding I've done.

The above picture shows it on their cake.

Christmas Eve

It's 7:30 pm, Christmas Eve. The 8 inches of snow that hit us hard a few days ago is slowly melting away as it's been raining off and on all day. A strong wind is gusting through the woods behind the house, and I can hear the trees creaking under it's pressure.

I'm ready to go take a bath and chill for the night, unable to attend Christmas eve parties because I've been sick with a stomach bug since Monday. My son Jason is home in Ann Arbor, relaxing in front of the tv. My daughter and her family are at church and my other son is with friends playing video games. His wife went to Vegas to visit her parents and he's taking this opportunity to hang out with his friends. My boyfriend is getting ready to visit his family and friends, bummed that I can't join him, but understanding about it.

My cat has been curled up in my office chair for hours and soon I'm going to persuade her to join me under the covers. She's the first cat I've ever owned who actually will lie under a blanket and rest her head on the pillow.

It sure doesn't feel like Christmas Eve, but I'm ok with that. Everyone I've talked to seems to be content with their plans for the evening; I'm not the only one staying home this night. I guess I just need to rest and get better, and hopefully, tomorrow, I can cook and enjoy a nice dinner.

I hope that whatever your plans are tonight , whether it's dashing from party to party, attending a church service, or staying home and watching Christmas programs, you remain safe and happy.

Enjoy the evening and especially have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow.

Clay babies altered in Photoshop

As I promised, here are some images that I altered in photoshop.

The idea is finding ways to get the creative juices flowing. There are many ways of firing up the creative process, and this is one I like to use.


The above image is the cut out filter.

This image is done with glowing edges.
I think the two images above were changed using ink out line filters.


The final image is pattern maker.


As you can see, I went a little overboard on the filters, but it's all in
an attempt to come up with ideas, whether it's a painting, clay, collage or graphics.

I could use some of these ideas for templates, patterns, coloring pages, wallpaper, tags and cards.
With more refinement and bit of work, I could use them for illustrations or transfers for jewelry.

Remember when it comes to brainstorming for ideas, there are many ways to get there. This is just one method I use.

Finding Inspiration

I work in an after school enrichment program and one of the lessons I just gave the kids was creating art without a lot of fancy or expensive materials. I showed them how, by using cardboard and scrap paper, a few crayons and some paint and string they could make a cool collage. I showed them an example (above pic) and they peeled cardboard and tore paper to make the basic collage. Then I showed them how to drag a string dipped in paint through the collage. They had a blast bouncing the string up and down. In the end, the assignment was fun, and hopefully they can make art at home, without much of an investment.

When I brought my sample home, I took some pictures of it. I wanted to show you how a simple art project or photograph can become more than what you would expect.



I find that Photo shop can really help me to create unusual designs, which can lead me to do projects that I hadn't even thought of.


As you may know, photoshop has several filters that change the appearance of the original picture.



In all of these images, I've used different filters and combinations of filters to change the original artwork. I save each picture that I change in Save as. For instance, my original picture is called cardboard. Then I save the second picture as Save as Cardboard1. The next, save as Cardboard 2, and so on. That way I save my original art work and have additional work that I may be able to use.


The above image was done using pattern maker. I love the way it turned out. I could use this image for altered art, artists trading cards, background for a website or for scrapbooking.


The image above looks like some kind of creature stepping up onto a pile of junk. It's creepy looking, but it could lead to a great idea.





This reminds me of bark on a tree. Think how interesting this would look in a collage

.
Some of the designs are so interesting, they make me want to use them! I love the color combinations.



They are uniquely different and with each new design I can see several possibilities.
These are just some of the images I made with one original design. I find this exercise to be very stimulating; it really opens my mind up to many ideas. Some times the designs don't work, but the process getting there was enjoyable. In the next few days, I'll show you some designs I made using polymer clay images. In the meantime, if you have photoshop, practice making your own creations with the help of the filter tool.

Snowed In!

If you live anywhere between Washington and New York you probably got as much snow or more than we received yesterday. My neighborhood got hit with about 8 inches.

The snowplow came through yesterday afternoon and now my car is surrounded by mounds of snow that I don't think I can shovel out on my own. I hope one of my grown children can come and help me. Where are all the kids with their shovels looking to make some fast cash? I remember when we would have these big snows, my son Brian would earn $100 in an afternoon shoveling people's walks. He was 10 or 11 and he and a friend would look at a snow day as a money making opportunity. I need a kid like that in my neighborhood.

Christmas Break!

I have the next two weeks off (16 days really) and my goals are the following:

1. clean and organize clay/art room (again for the 50th time)
2. start valentine ideas
3. work on graphics for some ideas i have
4. scan old documents and photos
5. paint and do collage
6. make new kitchen curtains (I'm doing a cherry theme)
7. Paint trim on cupboards
8. scour the resale shops and antique shops for old books and magazines
9. Read Walden; or, Life in the Woods) by Henry David Thoreau

I basically want to end the year on a positive and productive note.
I've planned just enough things to do to keep me from being bored. If I get all of it finished before I go back to work, I will feel like I accomplished a lot
without stressing myself out. I couldn't bare to just sit around during the next
few weeks.

The end of the semester

If you follow this blog, you know that I'm taking classes at Madonna University, working towards a degree in Graphics, and you know that sometimes I neglect my blog because of the demands of homework. I would like to announce that I did well this semester, despite my complaints. I received an A in Advanced Studio, and A in Graphics and an A- in Web Fundamentals (I couldn't believe it as this class was difficult for me)..I'm very happy to have this semester end. Next semester (starts soon) I'm taking Graphics Two and Lithography. I decided to keep it easy and am only taking 7 credits. I'm in no hurry to finish, and am trying to enjoy this journey. Working on this degree is probably the best decision I've made in thirty years!

It's funny, because I always used my age as an excuse for not going back to school. I remember saying once to my x mother-in-law (loved that woman), that I would be 35 or 40 before I could have a degree and she would say, "You are going to be 35 or 40 anyway, so why not have a degree?".

Pretty wise of her because I'm going to be 54 next year and my degree is within my grasp. I have about 6 or 7 more classes to take and what seemed like an impossible task before will now happen before I turn 55. And, like my mother-in-law said, I'll be 55 anyway, so why not be 55 with a degree? Although I don't feel 53, and I really don't act 53 (how does a 53 year old act???), I joke around that by the time I graduate, I'll be too old to work.


I'm off to do some last minutes orders for a few customers. Then it's time to start shoveling!