Spring Break!!

So yesterday was the first day of Spring Break and it was rainy and stormy. Perfect for staying inside and sewing (with a mid-day side trip with Andy to Trader Joe's and Nugget Markets). I made this shopping tote:



I needed to practice my sewing: making a boxed bottom and getting the straps put in right. Next one I will practice making pockets!



And it folds up when I am not shopping:



Then this morning, day 2 of my break... I was looking for a photo of some hollyhocks I had found on a trip either last summer or the one before and found that I had a ton of flower photos that had not been tagged in my Flicker photos... so I spent a little time this morning starting to organize and tag my photos (HERE are just the flowers so far).







I really want to grow hollyhocks this year -- I'd better get planting!

Remembering last summer...

ligo7, a photo by Cali-rhoz on Flickr.

I came home from work today and felt the need to go back through my photos and reread my blogs from my trip last summer... this photo caught my eye and I decided to reshare it. It's from a flower market (and summer festival) in Riga, Latvia.

Teaching myself quilting...

I love the Internet. It is so full of info and how-to videos... so much easier now to learn quilting than when I did it 40 or so years ago (not even sure I ever finished that first quilt it was so hard!). So I have found a few great info sources and I am teaching myself sewing and quilting from them. Today's lesson is from The Missouri Star Quilting Co video "Disappearing Nice Patch Quilt Block Tutorial." The idea in a nutshell is to sew 9 small squares together (I used pieces from charm packs which are precut squares) and then cut them in half vertically and horizonally to get 4 pieced blocks to mix around.

Here is my sewn 9 patch:


and then here are the squares cut and rearranged:



It is a cool technique that is super easy but looks like you did a ton of work. I like that!

The squares above are on my make-shift "design wall" which is a piece of batting pinned across a bookshelf. I need to get a foamcore board or something to put the batting on and then have it to move around. The cool part is the fabric just sticks to it when you put it up so you can move pieces around and then stand back and look at them.



I wish I had more wall space but I don't at the moment -- none that is in a bright enough area to see anything anyway.

Flowers Art Quilt is finished...

Just in time to bring it to my Art Quilt group on Wednesday to share!

Working on an art quilt...

Got inspired by a wonderful art quilter, Jamie Fingal, to make this for my art quilting class...

Still have some decorative stitching to do but it is almost finished. Mostly it has been a learning experience on how to figure out how to do something I see and make it. From this I think it will be easier to branch out on my own. So I think I will have to call this one "Jamie's Flowers" ya think?

Here is the art quilt by Jamie Fingal that got me so jazzed...

Finished!

crazy pink done, a photo by Cali-rhoz on Flickr.

Now to send it off...

Crazy pink after

Crazy pink after, a photo by Cali-rhoz on Flickr.

The pillow is almost done... still need to attach the pink border then attach it to the pink back. I sure hope I finish it before my niece stops liking pink!

Thrift store fabric finds...

I struck quilter's gold today! I thought I would check a couple of the thrift stores between my work and home on the way home today and I found some great finds!

This was a sari for just $4.95!


One of these was a gorgeous table runner than needs a better photo


Some cotton curtains


Yards and yards of velvet!


Interesting cotton and a brocade type fabric


Some interesting cottons

All of the above fabrics totaled less than $20.00! There are two more stores on another street I will try tomorrow... looks like I will find my interesting crazy quilt fabrics this way for a while -- Sacramento area has a TON of thrift stores! And there is a 3-day weekend coming up!!

Pink Pillow before

Pink Pillow before, a photo by Cali-rhoz on Flickr.

I think I have a new obsession -- crazy quilting! I have been devouring how-to's and ideas from online and finally decided to just make something!

I decided my first pillow would go to my niece who loves pink. This is the pieced together front piece before any embellishments. Then I will add borders to make it pillow form size (14" x 14") and then add the back.

Fabric Book covers so far

Fabric Book covers so far, a photo by Cali-rhoz on Flickr.

What has taken center stage... art journal on back burner this week while I play with my new sewing machine and get some quilting ideas.

Evenings with my art journal...

I have been spending the last few evenings playing around with paints and techniques in my art journal.



Maybe these will be backgrounds for something...



Or maybe not...



I also made the realization tonight (as seen on an older very pink page) that I can just have experiments (ugly or not) in my art journal, that I can just use it for experiments and pages don't HAVE to be "finished", and that I can have fun!



That is the most important part of it all!

Rainy Sunday and finding a stash of old inks...

It is one of those gray days that I am glad to be inside and putting more of my art supplies away. In fact, this morning I found a whole box of old inks and liquid acrylic paints that I knew I had but wasn't sure where they were...



So I spent some of the morning testing out each one and logging it (guess that is the science side of me) so I would know what I had before I went and bought more (which I almost did when I saw a couple of online sales but thought, well maybe some of my old inks are still good... and a lot of them were)!



And this is where they will live... (those are Twinkling H2Os in the other box):



And THIS is my art room organization best friend:

Geocaching Again!

I had a ton of fun this afternoon geocaching with my friend Jan. We found 8 new caches and then another new one for me that she had already found but wanted to show me just cause it was so clever. AND we walked around 2.8 miles while doing this so it was a double bonus!

Without giving too much away here are a few photos...









This next one eluded us for a bit but I found it! (Then she had to climb the tree cause I am too short!)

A few hours later...

The room isn't finished by any means, still a lot of junk to put away but here is a start...



and

Old Favorites and a New One...

Yesterday and today I have been looking at some art and videos by some of my favorite art journalists. Some of them I have been lucky enough to take workshops with (so inspiring!) and others I look at from afar but all inspire me and motivate me to create more.

I have many, many favorites but for now, here are 4 of them:

JULIANA COLES:
Juliana Coles website and her Institute for Extreme Journalism website.
Juliana Coles You Tube Channel.

TEESHA MOORE:
Teesha's website which includes her amazing journals.
Teesha's techniques videos page.

TRACI BUNKERS:
Traci's blog.
Traci's You Tube techniques channel.

The above three I have taken workshops with. The next one I recently discovered and enjoy seeing her Inspiration Wednesday videos.

DONNA DOWNEY:
Donna's webpage.
Donna's Inspiration Wednesday videos.

----------------------------------------------
Spent some of this morning still playing with Pinterest and looking at the above websites and other journaling pages on the Internet.

But my main task for the rest of this weekend is to continue reworking my art room (well art and everything else!) into a better usable space.
Today's goal: take everything out that is on the floor and clear off my work table.
Here's why:



and

Inspiration

"The day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom."
~ Anais Nin

Discovered Pinterest could help me as an Inspiration board without having to print out things that inspire me.

Later that same day...

Pinterest captured my attention this morning and I spent way too much time on it looking at interesting things other people had pinned, then found a few (lot) others to pin to my page...

Pages 4 and 5 of Art Journal

Pgs4-5, a photo by Cali-rhoz on Flickr.

Making a little more art tonight. THese are the last of the orangish pages (which don't seem to photograph all that well).

2 more pages!

I just got inspired and wanted to start!!



Page 2



Page 3

Why I like Art Journaling

Since it is a New Year I thought I would get down a few thoughts about WHY I like to work in my Art Journal. The reasons change over time but here are the ones that are on the front burner at the moment:
I art journal as a way of experimenting with ideas and techniques.
I art journal to express and process my feelings.
I art journal to use supplies I haven't used in a while.
I art journal to allow myself to fail. (although that is a hard one for me and I want to work on that a lot more this year)
I art journal to learn about myself.

When I travel I also like to use my art journal as a travel diary. It didn't work last summer because I got so caught up in having to blog about my trip so between that and the actually traveling I never had time to do art. I think next time will be easier. That was the first time I had traveled with my Netbook and I think I have some ideas for how to lessen the online time and do a little more journaling when I travel next time. Only way to tell is to get out there and try it!

Art Journal 2012

This last week I have gotten very inspired to start up my Art Journaling again. I have been watching free video blogs for ideas and looking at all my favorite journaling artists for inspiration and last night it hit me that I just needed to start! Just do it!



Repurposing some of the pages I salvaged from the travel journal that didn't happen last summer to jump-start my 2012 Art Journal. I forgot to take a picture of the "before" (just background) for this one but my plan is to take a shot of the background, then the final page for the pages this year. The first 12 or 13 are already done from last year's journal that didn't happen (because I decided to blog the trip online instead). So as I get a page done I plan to upload the "before" photo and the "finished" photo for each one.

Kale Chips, take Two...

Trying them dehydrator style this time...

Sunday Update: they were really boring! The oven must bring out other flavor cause these are still sitting on the kitchen counter 2 days later!

Another new experience and it is only Jan 2!!

I finally bought and cooked KALE and found out that I LOVE it! I had always heard kale was too bitter and the couple of times I had ever had it from anyone else it was awful. But lately there has been so much written about it on the blogs I read (Paleo food ones mostly) that I thought I would give it another chance. And I am so glad I did!!

I find my previous reluctance similar to this blogger's... and probably to many people. But boy oh boy kale is sure good for you!



First of all I found Lacinato Kale which everyone had said was better than the other old fashioned kind you find. I guess this one is sometimes also called Italian or Tuscan kale. I don't remember ever having it when I lived in Italy a few summers ago but I may have. Anyway I found it at Raley's and got two bunches to test out.



A few leaves I tried baked kale "chips" which are ok but so thin they just crumble and then you end up with really green-spotted teeth so these might not be a school food for me. Just sayin...



The I choose a recipe from one of my fav Paleo blogs, Nom Nom Paleo, and tried that. It had to be good since it also had bacon and we all know, say it together now: "Everything's better with bacon!"

It turned out yummy! So now I am a kale convert and plan to research other yummy ways of having this new (to me) leafy green. AND it was part of one of my short 2012 resolutions: Eat more leafy greens! Check!

My First Geocaching Experience...

My friend Jan (pictured below) took me with her to a few Geocaches that were in my neighborhood and I am hooked!





I actually had signed up on the Geocaching site years ago then never did go or try it. I have a few teacher friends who enjoy this hobby so I am glad to find I had a ton of fun testing it out too!



I am not going to say where these are because I don't want to give too much away but these were my photos from my first Geocaching trip!

I want to try some countryside ones in the Spring -- it seems like it would be a great way to get outdoors and enjoy the scenery as well as have adventures finding caches. And it is so popular in Europe so who knows, maybe next time I go abroad I can do a little geocaching there too! For now, let me get my feet wet in and around Sacramento!