Another old gal

This fine lady is definately one of pickiest gals I've worked on. She is refusing to photograph well.

Rain, Leaves and Eco-Paint

This is the view out my front window today.



Across the street from our new house there is a freezer 'factory'. Occasionally they get a bit noisy and drive me around the bend. I can't wait to get some more trees planted to block out the eyesore.

This is the view out my back window today.

Isn't it dreamy? *sigh* When I feel a bit tense about the folks across the street I just look at this and remember how lucky I am.

I've been working on my bedroom. The Mr. was getting impatient because it was a complete disaster. I decided to go with the Rona Eco Recycled Interior Paint I used on the bathroom since it seemed to cover fairly well and it made me feel like I was doing one little thing to be a bit greener. I needed 3 cans to paint the bedroom (it's massive), I chose "Sand" from the 16 available colours only to find that each bloody tin was a different shade! Ug! Ug! Ug! Take a look at the difference...

It's totally noticeable and looks a mess :(

I'm going to make myself happy by looking out of my back window again.

*P.S. Rona has looked into the problem and believes that during a packaging change a tin was mis-labled. They've been totally awesome and I'm pleased as punch with their efforts :)

The Crones

I've managed to compete most of my Crones. It's a lovely day to have them complete (well almost). The leaves are quickly turning and falling and there is enough of a chill to make me want to grab a chunk sweater. A perfect day.

Anyway, here are a bunch of the old gals. There are a few who are being difficult and need a little extra attention, or are refusing to photograph well, but I'll deal with them over the next week. I'm just so happy that so much is being completed and I'm back to making with full force!

Yum

Sometimes pie makes everything alright.

More crones...

I'm still working away at my witchy crone gals. It's really interesting to me how their personalities develop as they are worked with and embellished. I find myself having conversations with them "Oh stop being difficult!" and "Don't worry, you'll look fine." Does anyone else do this or am I going mental from the lack of human interaction?



My husband was a tad worried that I'd feel isolated moving away from everyone I know. I'm not finding it too difficult (yet). I guess I've never really been a people person and I find the silence sort of soothing. I really and truly enjoy being home.

I'm off to paint walls (beige this time, not white *gasp!*) and then I'll be making a loverly dinner for my hubby for our 8th wedding anniversary. I can't believe we've been together for over 17 years. Holy crackers that makes me sound old! No worries... I think getting old is kinda nice.

The Royal Flush

Here's the before ...

Here she is after stripping that horrible wall paper...

And less than $80 later...

I know I complained about being afraid of colour but I love my black and white bathroom.

The mirror is hung low so that the kiddo can see into it. The poor thing has spent a month and a half strugging to see into mirrors that are too high for him.

ATC's framed above the tub

These are some awesome old dowels we found in the storage space above our garage. Below is an lovely knickknack cupboard that craftewoman from craftster sent me for the 'birds, birds, birds' swap. I'm going to put old bottles and other lovely little things in there.

The big D and I worked on this project yesterday. I took an old broken frame and used scrapbooking paper, faux pearls, rickrack and a crown brad to make this silhouette portrait of the kiddo to hang.

So, there's still a few spaces that need a special touch but I'm loving it so far. Here's a rundown of my costs

$15 white eco friendly paint for the walls

$17 white floor paint

$35.99 mirror

$3.94 2 metres fabric for curtains

$2 supplies for silhouette picture

Everything else was stuff from my stash (frames, atc's, vase, cotton to line curtains).

Crones

I've been a busy bee and managed to finish up two more Crone dollies.

The Fountainhead

I just watched a documentary about Frank Gehry. If you don't know who he is, google his name and you'll see that he's the architect behind some pretty famous (and outrageous) buildings. I'm not a huge fan of crazy looking buildings and have fairly traditional tastes so Gehry's stuff ain't exactly my cup-o-tea, but I like him. He appears to be the best type of artist. He seems to be someone who creates because they can, because they want to, and to see where their making will lead them next. No matter what medium you're creating in, it's the thrill of the adventure of making that makes it worthwhile.

One thing that really struck me was that Gehry's buildings totally remind me of the novel The Fountainhead. (If you haven't read it, don't. I really and truly hated that book and will forever curse the day I opened it.) The main character in the book is an architect who creates buildings that most people find totally hideous, but whom their inhabitants would live no where else. When I see the outside of a Frank Gehry building I wonder what the hell people were thinking to erect such things, when I see the inside I totally understand.

Grumpy old things

There's a minor glitch in my coven plans... it seems I only have 12 dollies set up for embellishment. The 13th member of the coven has a face but the rest of him/her is missing. Looks like they will have to be solitary witch's. There's not a thing wrong with that.

I've been painting the wee things faces today so that I can keep this project moving along.

They are a pretty grumpy bunch but that's ok by me. I like old grumps. When I was younger and worked in retail, my co-workers would groan when resident crotchety old farts would come in the shop. I'd saunter over and share a giggle with the nasty old things.

More progress, less laundry

Alright, I really should be doing the dishes and laundry but my crafty artsy things are progressing nicely and I can't put them down.


Something that I've been working on (for what seems like forever) are a series of 'dolls' inspired by this gorgeous creature made by Ingrid Petersen. I came across the image in a thrifted book (circa 1975) called Handmade Toys and Games which showcases some really fantastic stuff. What I loved about the doll was just how simply it was made... she's basically a cone... but look how all of the embellishments make her come to life.

So, I'm making a coven (as I often do) and here is the first witch of the gaggle using the same idea as the above.

She's made with a stuffed cone of raw silk. Her face is made of paperclay and directly attached to the cone. Her hair is brushed yarn and sewn to the tip of the cone. She has no arms or legs... but I don't think she's suffering without them :)



P.S. She's approx. 8" tall

Slugman

I pulled out some old projects today to dabble with in between painting walls and doing dishes.

Here's the fellow that made the most progress today.





I find taking photos of my work really, really helpful. Looking at a photo helps to point out where more work needs to be done or other flaws that can be corrected. I think I'll darken up sluggy's head and add some detailing to his back.

Here's how he looking this morning before being attacked by a paintbrush.

The Loo

Although there are still packed boxes around the joint I've decided to tackle a room. The upstairs bathroom desperately needs attention.

This is a pic taken when we were looking at the house. The wallpaper was the strangest thing I've ever seen. It was sort of plastic and spongy and was a terrible eyesore. Here's a shot of the stuff with a pretty good idea as to the colour of it...

Ick! Most of the stuff wasn't too bad to get off. One 2 x 3 foot section above the tub proved to be torturous however and took twice as long as the rest of the entire room to remove.

Now that the paper is off and I've puttied the holes it's time to paint. I'm trying some recycled/eco paint on the walls which was fairly inexpensive but I'm a tad worried about because it seems a little thin. I'm also going to give painting the floor a go. I'm a bit worried about painting floors but I bought the proper paint and the room doesn't exactly have heavy traffic so hopefully it turns out well.

The colours? White. I'm terrified to be adventurous with paint.

If it ain't Scottish...

Yesterday was spent exploring the sights around our new hometown. We visited the Belleville market in the morning. Smallish but fantastic! Tomatoes were really expensive though (Does $20 a bushel seem like a lot?).

Then it was off to the Trenton Scottish and Irish Festival. Lots of great sights and sounds for everyone with a bit of green in their blood. My fave was the 'Heavy Games' where the big men in kilts compete in crazy feats of strength. Like tossing a 20 lb rock 60ft.

Or the 'Sheep Toss' where a bag is thrown with a pitchfork high into the air.

That post is set to 31' 2", the Canadian amateur record is 31'. If only he'd managed to toss it over the post, rather than beside it. Ah well, I'm sure he'll be breaking records in no time at all.

Still working on my gals as well as my coven of witch's... for now I'm stripping hideous wall paper in my bathroom and trying to prep myself for days and days of painting.

WIP's

When I was in school I never understood the hub bub about process. My art and design instructors went on and on about it, and I just never got it.

Pftt. When you're a 'young adult' who cares about process? I sure as heck didn't. Then again, I'm fairly certain that their idea of 'process' was just proof that I'd done the required amount of homework, or a deliberate creative routine I was supposed to follow.

Now I see it as a celebration of the act of creation. It's embracing the joy of making.

I love the process of creating. I love seeing how other people create. For me the actual making can be as rewarding as the resulting works.

Anywho, here are my seasonal gals in the process of being made...