sorrowful sewing

i'm still trying to learn how to work with fabric. hats off to those of you who do it and are wonderful at it. it's really quite complicated. this fabric postcard ended up on the chopping block at the last minute, which had me removing the sand bottom floor. i initially cut the postcard to 4 x 6 i thought but i must have made it 4.5 x 6.5. so when i went to sew the back on it i saw that measurements didn't align. needless to say i had to remove part of the design and then it left no room for bubbles on the side either. i was quite annoyed that it wasn't right since i worked on it from right after supper til almost midnight last night. i get frustrated when things like that happen. i should have been more careful. i wonder how many of these i'll have to make before one turns out with no mistakes?

still trying

today i did get some art time and i managed to make a few postcards.
i did a few watercolor postcards this morning but i was just itching to do another fabric postcard. i'm making so many mistakes with them and there is definitely a big learning curve to the whole world of sewing art. here is my second attempt with fabric along with the two watercolor postcards i did today.

sewing postcards

my friend shirl (http://shadetreeart.com/) does such great fabric postcards. because she inspires me so much i asked her if she could tell me some things so that i could try my hand at it. of course i am NO where close to making the beautiful things she does with fabric, but i am hopeful that if i keep practicing i might make some art worthy enough to trade. here's my very first attempt at the world of fabric art.

sunday post card challenge

it is time for another sunday postcard challenge. this week's challenge was dogs. i have been so busy with home projects that my week seemingly disappeared. i didn't have time to work on it before this afternoon but i finally finished it up. i am almost sorry i missed this party!

my first project

the rubberstamp madness magazine is having an artwork call for one of their publications next year in a theme of "the queen of hearts". i used quite a few alpha stamp products to complete it and will submit it on their behalf. this is the first time i've ever tried to submit something to a magazine so i am not sure how it will go. keep your fingers crossed for me !

what color girl i am

You Are A Blue Girl

Relationships and feelings are the most important things to you. You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict. If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well. You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.

What Color Girl Are You?

making art time amidst the mess

we're cleaning our clutter. what a big job. we did a few closets and now we have moved on to the attic. i think all of this recent decluttering will certainly cure my pack rat addiction. i almost feel a little ashamed of myself when i see everything i have stuffed in that attic. the terrible part is we worked a large part of the day and only have about 1/3 of it done. so while todd was off lifting the really heavy stuff to the dumpster we had delivered this morning, i managed to slip away to the art room and squeeze in a little art time. i finished up this postcard.

life in the back yard

today i felt inspired to take a few photos of the flowers blooming out back by our pond. bee balm and cone flowers are a few of my favorite flowers because they attract so many butterflies. i was fortunate to see a butterfly on the cone flower and i insisted she pose for a picture. she reluctantly agreed. my favorite flower is the brown eyed susan tho. i don't know what it is about them but they just make me feel so happy when they are in bloom. i always feel so blessed to have such a beautiful backyard sanctuary.

sunday postcard challenge

as many of you know i do the sunday postcard challenges when ever i can. this time the theme was "cakes". since i love, and i mean LOVE cupcakes, i decided to do one with a cupcake. here it is.

a little surprise

seems purplecat took a fancy to my blog and awarded me a little award so now it's time to pass it on. you can find her blog at: www.purplecats-corner.blogspot.com.

i would like to nominate the following people whose blogs i check out regularly for inspiration and deserve to be recognized:
1. cathy - www.cparmelee.blogspot.com
2. kelly - cruzinkellster.blogspot.com
3. jennifer - www.artrageousafternoon.blogspot.com
4. jan - www.artfriendzy.blogspot.com
5. diane - www.dianeglass.blogspot.com
6. cassandra - cassiscreations.blogspot.com
7. julia - wjuliavanderwerf.blogspot.com

the rules of accepting the award:
1) put the logo on your blog.
2) add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) aominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) add links to those blogs on yours.
5) leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

keeping up

there have been so many wonderful postcards for trade on the mail art site (www.mailartworld.com) and i have been struggling to keep up. here's one i just finished today. when i saw this vintage photo i just had to use it because it made me chuckle out loud.

getting side tracked

would you believe today i wanted to make art but got side tracked in cleaning and organizing my art space? it's been a long time coming. the big piles of accumulated "stuff" have finally found drawers and containers to hang out in now and i actually have an open area to work in. i don't know why it is so hard for me to put things away but i like to have an easy reach for supplies. i eventually found my way to make another postcard to trade. i actually am a little partial to this one for some reason.

another postcard

yes. so it seems i am obsessed with this new found thing called postcards. i'm sure by now you are all sick and tired of seeing these but i have to say i just love making them and receiving them. what a great piece of art to come through the mail with a tiny note on the back. i just love it. so here is my latest one i made.

surprise! more postcards!

despite the fact that i went to our family's fourth of july celebration today i did find time to finish up a couple of postcards. but before i came home from the picnic i did indulge in some wonderful picnic food and had some really great family time. it was a beautiful day out today for a gathering so i felt very blessed by my day. it was nice to end the day in some art time and i find that i really enjoy making art the size of postcards (4 x 6). the artists in the postcard swap at the mail art site are making such wonderful postcards and when i see them i want them all. the work on that site is reallyl quite remarkable. it's been a struggle to make enough postcards for my inventory to have available for trades. it does seem that motivation seems to come in all forms. here is a look at the three postcards i finished today.

stealing a couple of hours

would you believe i'm still smack dab in the middle on the bedroom make over? who knew i'd get so caught up in all the details? i am beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel tho. and just in the nick of time, to tell you honestly, as my husband and i both said this morning last night was the best we've slept on the sofa pull out bed. i guess after a week of sleeping on it it is becoming to feel comfortable, and that is definitely NOT a good sign! we both petered out last night so while he watched a sci-fi movie i grabbed some art time. it felt wonderful to be creative during those 4 hours. i really can't imagine my life without art. here is a postcard i finished last night. i'm going to enter this one into the sunday postcard art challenge for the theme of "birds". if any of you want to join in the postcard mania let me know or check out the ongoing swap at www.mailartworld.com.

the bedroom redo

i have not had much time for art for the past few weeks. i am submerged in redoing our bedroom. we gutted the entire room and are doing almost everything over. for two non-construction people we surely undertook a major task. i will say, however, this is the first project in over 25 years of marriage that we did not have one argument. i mentioned that to my husband the other day and his remark?...."it isn't over yet". hmmmmm i couldn't say a word to that because it really was quite true. he is out cutting baseboard which gave me a few minutes to finish up a couple of postcards i was working on . here is one i finished this morning.