Wild with an M

Hello All!
Wow, this week seemed to fly by!
Just to let you know, I will be doing lessons 4 and 5 next week for the Drawing Lab Project....just couldn't seem to fit it in this week!

Over at Butterfly Effect this week, the theme was Wild at Heart.
What a great theme to get lost in....to sling paint with abandon and get in touch with the primal soul at the core of my being....
But, alas....I wasn't able to commune with that energy this week....perhaps later...

For now, that soul is harnessed and controlled for now.  Kind of like this.

Yes, my daughter has begun to walk her cat.  Haha! I use the word "walk" very loosely.  You don't decide you are going around the block or anything with cats.  They decide where they want to go and you just have to follow :)

So far, it hasn't been out of our yard...

Hey, did you notice Maggie's shirt?!  It actually says Wild at Heart!  I just noticed it when I was editing the photos to put up here! Funny ;D

Oh, and speaking of yard....an exciting thing occurred here over the weekend.  We got grass!  May not be a big deal to some....but we've been living here over a year with nothing but weeds and dirt to greet us.
Here, let me show you what I mean...
Nov 2010 when we bought the place:

We took out the palm trees and shrubs, ripped out the bouganvillea by the walkway, repainted the shutters and porch railing and tore up the dead grass.

It's looked like this for quite some time.

But now...

Amazing what a difference it makes :D

Okay, so I didn't get to do anything wild for myself.....but I was able to make something for a wild at heart friend.  Would you ever think to put skulls on a coffee cozy?

Yeah, me neither....haha!

But here is one.

And another.

And some keychains for the heck of it!

Does that count?

If you are one of those inclined to add skulls to everything, I have one of these keychains in the shop....and I can always make more cozies for anyone interested....you Wild Things, you ;P

Hope you have a wild and wonderful weekend, My Bloggy Buds!!

Until next week,

Cameron

P.S.  For the next two Lessons of Drawing Lab.....we are supposed to draw at the zoo.  If you have a menagerie at home or are able to actually go to a zoo...fantastic!  Otherwise, other measures are, of course, necessary and just fine. I will be using footage we've taken from various zoo visits for my assignments :)

I'm having so much fun doing these with you!

A Jewel of a Day!

Hello All!  Thank you so much for stopping by.  Hope things have been going well for you :)

As far as we're concerned, we've been good.

Tuesday in particular was soooo nice!

Y'see, I've started up some little Pre-K classes for my daughter thru the city, so 2 days a week we get up early, I pack her lunch and feed her breakfast, etc....to get her to a class that is just 3 hours long!

Now, I love how much she looks forward to singing songs and being with other kids....and that's why I do it, but 3 hours just doesn't seem worth the trouble of nagging her to eat, nagging her to get dressed, nagging her to hurry up...lol :D Especially since Monday was a Holiday here in the States...

I haven't lost you yet, have I?  I promise I have something really cool to show you at the end!  Now your curiousity is kicking in, isn't it?  Now you have to stay (insert evil laugh here!)

Anyhoo, in the interest of brevity...kid had runny nose....kept her home from school....did inner dance of joy (not that she was sick...what kind of Mother do you think I am? haha!)....leisurely sipped coffee whilst looking out our patio door...

Notice the sea of weeds out there...they reach mid-shin!  But, at least they're my weeds...and hey, they're green :)

Maggie and I spent the whole day doing fun things. Oh, and she worked on her "site" for a bit (which consists of me putting on a Word Doc & her typing furiously away....really quite cute)  One of my favorite things about this house is that she can work on the computer here (might I point out the strategic placement of toilet roll so shirt can escape snot duty...I can dream, anyway)

And I can work on artsy things here....in the same room!

After her "work", Maggie helped me prep canvasses.

I don't think I've ever explained my process for prepping them before. I'm not sure if everyone or no one does them this way....but I find the whole thing quite relaxing (and it helps to use up my shockingly huge supply of scrapbook paper!)....so here goes.

I take a white, back-stapled canvas and paint it with a variety of colors...including the sides.

Sorry, I forgot to take a pic of this 1st step...

After it's dry, I Mod Podge torn paper pieces all over making sure to overlap the sides from time to time.

After this dries, I then paint it again, deciding whether to allow a lot of the underlying paper to show thru or not....and then sometimes add patterns with saran wrap, bubble wrap, corrugated cardboard, etc....

When this dries...it's ready to use!

Here are the ones Maggie made for me yesterday :)

Okay, now that I've made you stick with me....here's my something cool...

Drumroll please....

This is:

"The Jewel of the Forest"

8 x 10 inches

Mixed Media / Acrylic

I'm sorry for the crappy pic :( 

I literally just finished it, like 15 minutes ago....and it is near Midnight now.

I will have better photos of it in the morning when I list it in my shoppe.

By the way, I've just decided to put a few things in my Etsy Shoppe as an experiment to compare it with my Artfire one...nothing you haven't seen already, but if any of you have tried both and have a preference, I'd love to hear what you've learned :)

*****Edited (here are the better pics!)******

 

Thanks again for coming back here, My Friends....

Having this space be one that you like to visit over and over again makes me wanna do an outer dance of joy...heehee...

I'm one Lucky Gal :P

Hugs,

Cam

GoodBye (for now)

Hello Dear Friends!  Wow!  It's really time for me to do this post....

A post where I sign off for a while to attend to real Life...

                       

.. .

the paperwork for our new home has been signed....

It's time to pack up all our memories

and start afresh...

Time to say Goodbye :(

Goodbye to our ugly mint green door. 

 I'm not sure why the Apartment Complex chose this odd color for our front door...it certainly would not be my first choice...but is now etched into our minds...and photos :)

Goodbye makeshift mantel.....

My main area for Seasonal Decorating...

The focal point and backdrop for so much of the important milestones in our lives...

..and the first thing you see as you open that ugly green door....

But now...

It's already reverting back to the empty walls it began as....

....before a Marriage and a Family transformed it into a Happy Home....

That front porch has been my little stage through 9 years of Holidays and Celebrations!

                                               From Western Themed Birthdays.....

To Autumn Welcomes...

I have always enjoyed making it something to be proud of...

Despite that green door...haha!

So now, I get to pack up our (messy) Lives into tidy brown boxes and make a change...

...a change of address, a change of scenery.....

... a change of proximity to those I lean on.... (we'll be so much farther away)

...and, yet, I am not having a change of Heart :)

As emotional as this move is proving to be.....thinking of all the things we'll be leaving behind....

It is also solidifying for me, that relationships are not defined by the miles between us, but by what we feel in our Hearts...

...And that what makes a Happy Home is not the 4 walls we reside in, but the people who reside there with us! 

(Don't you just want to call your spouse right now, or give your child a great, big hug?!  Go ahead...They deserve it.....I'll wait!)

Here is a look at where our new Memories will be created....

The plants are dead and neglected....

The house sits empty...waiting for the sound of laughter to fill it once again :)

Where my daughter will come home to after school....

....where my Hubby will be doing yardwork on the weekends....

...And where my new stage will be...

to welcome Friends and Family.

(That furniture was left by the previous owners)

....And look....no ugly Mint Green Door!

Though, I will miss that door....and all it represents in my memory soooo much!

So, Good-bye Dear Friends...

....at least for a little while, as I get things in order around here...

and make the biggest move of my Life :)

I'll have so much to share with you upon my return!

Hugs to you all,

Cam

btw:  I've changed my email address so I won't lose touch with anybody:

paintmyselfpretty@yahoo.com

My New Neighborhood!

Hello to all you Lovely Friends!  Hope your weekend was a good one!

I stayed up a little late on Saturday to paint, among other things...and was able to finish this! 

Welcome to "Cozy Street" :) 11x14 inch Mixed Media on Canvas.

This was soooo much fun to do!  I really enjoyed decorating the 4 little houses, playing around with each one to give them a personality of their own :)  I can definately see more of these "neighborhoods" in my future!

 I incorporated more crackle glaze into the mix (which I really like the look of)!

...And this time, I added a few more personal touches... These 2 little kitties in front are modeled after my own fluffy duo....1 black and 1 calico :) 

I did an old post about them here.

I used a page from an old dictionary for this door and one roof...the definition of Home...

Can you see, also, I used beads as the doorknobs.  I like the dimension and inviting feeling the little knobs give....like there would be tiny furniture and the smell of cinnamon coffee cake wafting thru the house if only you could just turn that little knob and go in :)

....And this house is number 502...the same address of my childhood home...where all cozy memories begin!  My Dad's parents first resided in the home, and my parents still live there today.  It is the hub where everyone meets and chats and mingles, where cousins, nieces, nephews, etc. run around and play...

I felt it necessary to pay homage to my true "first home" while on the cusp of moving into our own :)

Love ya' Mom & Dad!!!

I have put this piece in my shop, fyi ;oD

...And this, my Friends....is my new acquisition!! Isn't she so pretty!

My talented Blog Buddy, Theresa MacNaughton at Fairie Moon Creations

knew I was drooling over her and offered to do a trade (I just love trades....everybody wins!) She makes gorgeous jewelry and does wonders with yarn, by the way....you might want to check her out if you're not lucky enough to know her already :)

I sent her Mushroom Cap Cottage, and I received this beautiful piece entitled, "Every Girl is a Princess".  I adore that title, too! Thanks, Theresa!  I will treasure her :oD

I hope to be back soon, but I fear my posts will begin to slow as we gear up to start the moving process....

You won't forget about me, right?!  Okay, good.... :)

Hugs all around,

Cameron

Whew! What a week!

Hello Everyone! I've missed you so! A week is too long to go without writing, but it is absolutely impossible to get organized, take photos and generate a post when Hubby and child are home for a long weekend. Besides, you were all too busy to read about little old me, anyway, right?!

Creative Everyday Update:

Let's start with a little something new I tried thanks to inspiration from Sheree @ Raven Moon Magic. I've seen pages from books used as art/canvas before, but I guess you have to be ready before something speaks to you......this time, I was ready! After seeing what she did using the pages, I set about on a quest to find my own hidden messages within the text.

The circled words read, "She wasn't anywhere....she breathed.....home was their children."

I would have liked this much better had I just circled the "home was their children" part, but, I'm still learning to find the concise description that lies in wait.

I think I did much better with the next one...plus, it's more like me, and what I do already. The words say,"Pale neck....ivory skin....her eyes...Scandalous". I gave her fangs at first, but didn't like the way it looked. There must be a dozen layers of color on her lips. Aside from curling a bit, the thin paperback pages have held up pretty well. I think I will be on the lookout for books with thicker pages, though, since I tend to rework my pieces a little too much. So, this has been a good exercise in learning restraint....I didn't say I passed the lesson, but am always learning through exploration!

Thank you, Sheree!

How was your Valentine's Day?


Operation Hubby is still in full swing. The piano is finally getting some use by being the perfect card holder/displayer thingy :) My Darling surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a gift certificate for a massage at Glen Ivy Day Spa (You'd think I wouldn't need one considering I work at a spa, but the last thing anyone wants to do after 3 or 4 massages is stay to give a free one...even with the promise of receiving one in trade later...) So, I appreciate and need this gift very much! But, as grateful and excited as he made me with those, what he did that really made me swoon was.....He got my wedding ring resized! I haven't been able to wear it in 5 years! It's all clean and shiny....and on my finger right now!!! Yay!!!!!!

Artfire Shop Update:

Also, over the weekend, I made my first sale! A wonderful woman bought 3 of my Sea Glass hair accessories.

I know she is wonderful because I was lucky enough to meet her in person. It figures that on a web shop where anyone in the world can view and purchase handmade goods, she would end up being local! So, I just delivered the items to her doorstep rather than have her wait for it to be shipped. It's so nice to have your creations go to a good home...to someone who will love them as much as I do! Thank you, Shelly!

Been working on some cute gift bags to offer in the shop. As you already know, my goal with the shop is to make things from stuff I already have on hand. I'm finding it extremely satisfying to dip into my stash and make something new and beautiful! These are just brown paper lunch sacks, embellished with reproductions of my art, stickers, scrapbook paper and ribbon!

They're perfect for wrapping up small gift items or gift cards. Filled with shredded paper and yummy treats, would be a sweet idea, too, plus they're reusable. They just tie shut and can easily be refilled and used again. What do you think? Lunch bags too casual? I'd be curious to hear your thoughts :)

Well, I think this may very well be the longest post I've written yet. I hope to be back again on Friday, before the weekend takes over again. I'll get my cuppa joe and meet you right back here!

By the way, Button wanted me to tell you that she is NOT persnickety at all, as I formerly called her....

She's merely playful, is all, but handed me a list of pre-approved descriptives to use on my blog when referring to her.

I had trouble deciphering some of the words....feline handwriting can be very tricky to read, but I think, I recognized "Beautiful" on the list.....

So, here is Beautiful Button on the porch....(hope that makes Miss Persnickety happy!)