Kristi's Twist

Wall Project

2011-12-30T13:26:00.000-06:00

I just recently finished plastering and painting a room in my home. I posted earlier I would show pictures when I was finished. This ended up being a big project - getting the plaster on the wall with a trowel and then smoothing took more time than I originally thought. After the plaster was completed, I painted over the rough surface with a neutral color, replaced the faucet, added a towel rack, and a curtain rod. I like the way the room turned out (lotsa texture on the walls). Still have to plaster over some small areas I missed, find a mirror, curtain (may sew myself), and add some wall decorations. 
While working on the plaster, I went crazy and ended up painting three more rooms in my home, painted my kitchen chairs and reupholstered them. Pictures of the chairs can be seen here.

Journal Pages

2011-12-28T16:04:00.003-06:00

Journal pages and cards recently traded on atcs for all

Summer - Journal update

2011-12-15T18:01:00.000-06:00

I've forgotten about my journal - it's been through a dry spell, two snowy days, and a few windy, rainy, cold days. I was going to finish the project after the first snowfall but have decided to leave the journal outside until summer. 

I've been trying to decide what to do with the journal and papers when finished. A few weeks ago I picked up a book called How To Be An Explorer of the World by Keri Smith. The book is full of ideas of what to journal about. The topic I decided to pick is time observation. I started taking photos everyday of a parking lot and will use the photos somehow with the journal.

One of the parking lot photos

New chairs

2011-12-02T16:51:00.001-06:00

I altered some of my chairs for thanksgiving. The color choices are from Loyce Houlton's Nutcracker Fantasy.

A pic of the chair

Got tickets to see the performance, can't wait!

Here I am at age 7 in the nutcracker. Stuck with the color orange.

Finished crochet tote

2011-11-28T14:38:00.001-06:00

I finally completed my first attempt at a crochet motif tote bag. I started the project a couple of weeks ago and had the holiday weekend to complete. I added canvas lining for stability, did the whip stitch to connect the canvas and the crochet tote.

Made one of each motif and connected with a Slip stitch (including the sides of the bag)

Granny 

Granny Stripes 

Dahlia

Granny with a twist

Cranesbill lace

Stripe block (2)

Blooming granny 

Mesh with flowers

Tricolor (only used two colors)

Begonia

Vintage  

For the bottom of the bag, three rows of Dc.

For the handle I did the mesh stitch, but still looking for two leather handles to connect to the sides of the bag. 

Baby/toddler afghan, stroller blanket added to Etsy

2011-11-12T08:37:00.001-06:00

New in my Etsy shop

Basic granny square pattern with two different sized grannies. I connected the grannies with a slip stitch. (Took forever! Thought I would never finish) The edging is the basic Hdc stitch.

Love this photo!

2011-11-10T19:32:00.001-06:00

Not sure if I shared this photo in an earlier post.? Love the look of my cat with all the bright painted papers!

Crochet Jar cozy, pics of disintegration journal project

2011-10-30T10:54:00.000-05:00

Decided to make my crochet cuff bracelet into a jar cozie! 

Journal disintegration pics

Happy Halloween!

Crochet granny square blanket in Etsy shop

2011-10-28T10:30:00.002-05:00

Made this a few weeks ago - now in my Etsy shop. 100% Acrylic, machine washable, super soft!

Disintegration journal update

2011-10-20T12:22:00.000-05:00

Checked on my journal last week and found all the twine wrapped around it gone. The journal had fallen to the ground and and all the loose papers inside were scattered and buried in the fallen leaves. This gave me a chance to check the disintegration (idea from cloth, paper, scissors) or destruction of the papers that were in the journal. I tried not to peek, but there were stains from all the rain, and eroding on the journals front and back covers. I bundled up the papers, got them back in the journal, took some pictures, and a few days later attached the journal to my back porch with torn fabric. Oh yeah, something is also chewing on the lace wrapped around the journal. Squirrel? 

Here is a pic of me - Nerd glasses app

Gray cowl scarf added to Etsy

2011-10-08T12:38:00.000-05:00

Just finished a gray crochet cowl for my Etsy shop

Altered coffee sleeves

2011-10-02T22:12:00.002-05:00

gesso, collage, machine stitching, & embroidery for swap on atcsforall.com

Utah and Arizona Summer vacation

2011-09-24T10:15:00.000-05:00

Summer vacation this year was spent in three states. We flew to Las Vegas Nevada, got a minivan rental car and headed for Utah Zion National Park. The kids loved the ride through Vegas. They were in shock over the enormity of the themed hotels.
When we arrived in Springdale Utah, we stayed at the Cliffrose. Cliffrose is located at the entrance of Zion. A walking path behind the Cliffrose takes you to the entrance of the park. When you reach the park, there are buses that drop you off at different locations for hiking.
We received hiking and tubing info from Zion adventure company in Springdale. At the adventure Co. you can get info about the hiking paths, weather, and what equipment is required (needed).
Had dinner at Oscars a Mexican restaurant. Would love to go back. They serve yummy wine and beer magaritas. We also ate at Magestic view, a lodge which overlooks the red rock canyons. We watched a storm come in as we had our dinner.
The Narrows hike was by far the best hiking experience, we only went about halfway through the canyon. To hike all the way through, you need to camp. We reached the Wall Street point where the two adjoining canyons are close together and enormous. Depending on the time of day, if the sun is hitting one of the canyon walls just right, the wall takes on a golden hue.

We spent time in Zion hiking the Narrows & Emerald pools, tubing down the Virgin river, and walking around Springdale visiting rock shops. Tons of hummingbirds, great weather and beautiful surroundings.

After a few days we got in our rental and went to grand canyon North rim. Had lunch and hiked to observation point Blue Angel. The blue angel hike is a short walking path to a rim of the canyon. Words can not express the magnitude of the canyon, absolutely stunning.
Wish we had stayed a few days at North Rim lodge, besides the hiking, the sunsets and sunrises are probably beautiful.

The road trip to Sedona Arizona is definitely a must do. We passed by the Echo mountains, Hopi Indian reservation, and the Painted dessert. Would love to go back and see more of these places. Too much to do!

When we arrived in Sedona, we rested for the eve at the Hilton. Had dinner, and the kids swam. The place is unbelievable, three pools, great food, and hotel rooms that are actually liveable when your traveling with kids.
The next day we went to the hike house and decided to hike West fork in upper Sedona. We didn't complete the full hike, the kids started getting hot despite our back pack full of water and the trail being heavily shaded. It was relaxing getting next to the canyons. The temperature drops about 10 to 20 degrees. We ate lunch in Sedona, walked around and went back to the hotel where the kids swam almost the whole eve (five hours). They had a blast!
We also visited Red Rock river park where you can slide through the natural curves of the stone and swim.

When we were walking around Sedona, we went into a shop where we were told about a beautiful place to swim near Sedona. The park is south of Sedona, and the drive to reach the park is a bit scary if your not used to driving up and along canyons on unpaved roads. After a few screams and being a bit panic stricken, we made it in our minivan. The park is Fossil creek and the water is so clear and blue, it looks like the ocean. The blueness or aqua color of the river looks so unreal. Before I jumped in, I doubled checked to see if there were fish. Well worth the harrowing drive. We spent time jumping in the river near a bridge off the main road. On this day, we also visited Montezuma's castle and the city of Jerome.
Loved Jerome - we arrived a bit too late because most of the shops close around 5 or 6. We visited some that were open, a kalediscope shop, and got the kids an ice cream cone. Hated to leave, because I wanted to see more of the place. We ate at Picazzo Pizza on the way back to our hotel in Sedona.

The next day we hiked the Ridge trail in Sedona, (alongside a canyon going up), had lunch at Grasshopper, and back to Jerome. More shops, and art galleries were open. We got a second chance to explore the small town. The kids got to see a glassblowing demo at one of the artists studios along the hillside.
And like always after any vacation, I want to go back to Arizona/Utah. So much to do and explore in such a small amount of time.

Updates on my Disintegration project

2011-08-26T18:09:00.001-05:00

I've found my journal on the ground a couple of times since June 01 2011.

_turning_world tweeted me on August 8th wondering if my journal was still outside. After the tweet, I checked to see if it was still hanging from the tree but found the journal on the ground. Something had gnawed through the twine. We have extremely large, sharped nailed coons around here who climb trees. I'm sure it was a coon!

Today, again, the journal was on the ground. I haven't been placing any food near the journal so I really don't understand why a coon would be so interested. Maybe an eagle likes the twine to fill the holes in his nest?

I was going to take the journal inside and check out the papers after the first snowfall, but I have decided to keep the journal outside for six months. (December 1 2011) Will post pictures as time passes.

Summer photo pics

2011-08-11T17:02:00.000-05:00

Crochet projects

2011-08-07T11:05:00.000-05:00

Just completed a few crochet projects within the last week. The crochet piece pictured below is a triple loop shell stitch from a book I had just recently purchased. I added the crochet piece to an old t-shirt of mine.

Crochet granny square afghan - a wedding gift given to a cousin. I've been working on this afghan for the last three weeks! Finally finished yesterday. Photos taken at some of the various places I stitched.

I found a vintage crochet granny square purse on Etsy and decided to make one with my stash of squares around the house. The lining of the purse is canvas. I am not liking the handle, on the hunt for a better one.

mixed media birds

2011-07-18T22:09:00.000-05:00

mixed media birds swap on atcs for all

Kindle crochet cozy

2011-07-12T09:03:00.001-05:00

I was trying out a new crochet stitch the other day and decided to create a cozy for my kindle. The stitch is called clever blocks from The complete photo guide to crochet (Margaret Hubert).

I stopped in to get a new cutting mat and was quickly exiting the store trying not to look at anything else and glanced at this crochet book. The photo samples are large so you can see the stitch clearly, like you are holding a sample of the stitch, making the crochet instructions easier to understand. Great book for anyone who knows all the basic stitches and wants to take their crocheting skills a step further. The book offers more than thirty pages of specialty crochet methods (freeform, overlay crochet) and lots of different stitch patterns. (tunisian, motifs, unusual stitches, heavy textures, mesh, lace, ripple ....)!

Hipstamatic photos

2011-07-03T11:17:00.001-05:00

Some hipstamatic photos of my garden .....

New vintage style afghan on Etsy

2011-07-02T10:43:00.000-05:00

Just completed another afghan ~ only took me a few weeks! Available in my Etsy shop. Soft acrylic and machine washable.

Cloth paper scissors monthly challenge

2011-06-15T20:44:00.007-05:00

Creative challenge Home sweet home Cloth, Paper Scissors

Made a collage on canvas, used the house template given, added old watch parts, lace, washer, bark from a tree, moss, lock and antique flowers.

cards @ Etsy

2011-06-09T18:30:00.009-05:00

These note cards are avail in my Etsy shop 3 for $10

Disintegration

2011-06-01T11:05:00.000-05:00

I read an article awhile ago in Cloth, Paper, Scissors about an artist who bundles stacks of paper and either buries the paper in the ground, or hangs the bundles of paper from trees. Outside elements over a period of time, age, color and change the paper. The artist then uses the disintegrated papers in artwork/collages. I wanted to try this, so yesterday I had some time to create and hang my own bundle of paper.

I first created a journal from an old arithmetic book. I ripped out the old text and replaced with watercolor paper, then used gesso and java ink to stain the pages. I used old upholstery fabric for the spine of the book and bounded the pages with wax linen thread.

I then filled the book with ephemera, painted and spray painted papers.

Wrapped the bundle with a painted and stamped paper towel, lace and twine.

Photos of the journal and ephemera hanging from an outside tree. I will take the bundled stack down after the first snowfall!

Barbie

2011-05-31T20:39:00.001-05:00

Went to an antique store this last weekend and there was a huge display of vintage barbies. I used to play with these dolls with my aunt when I was younger. My aunts collection was huge - I'm sure if someone today put a price on the collection she had, it would be in the thousands. I would spend many hours playing barbies and listening to Dean Martin, Elvis, Bobby Vinton (?), Sammy Davis Jr, and Frank Sinatra. This was only the start of a very awful clothing addiction for me!

This time with my aunt was very precious (thesaurus - worth ones weight in gold) to me. My aunt had down syndrome and I practically grew up with her. I try to donate, volunteer as much as I am able to organizations like Arc and the Special Olympics.

Some pics of the vintage barbies -

My aunt had a lot of these costumes. I remember that nurses uniform!

Skipper - one of my favorite barbies - hey only $129.

Garden Pictures

2011-05-30T11:01:00.001-05:00

Scrapbook

2011-05-27T12:19:00.005-05:00

Made this scrapbook for my moms cancer benefit. The book was up for auction and the money was donated to help pay medical bills.

Hand bound Accordion Scrap book with folds and envelopes for photos.

Hand made, antique, store bought embellishments and ephemera.

Book is large enough to store memorable art and schoolwork behind or alongside photos. 

Bought a tablet of scrap book paper, folded each sheet, tore in half and bound the pages together using wax linen thread. The book style is accordion and fans out for display on table.


Clips added to attach photos to the book. Umbrella from an old wedding shower card

added lace and ribbon from antique store

I crocheted the beige flower and added embellishments from Archivers.

Added some of my own painted paper

Created tag from note card I received from a swap


Vintage wallpaper tag

Front cover of Journal - mixed media bird I made. Fabric flower from Archivers

Another row added

2011-05-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

Added another row to my afghan

Fresco (faux) to my walls

2011-05-22T08:41:00.001-05:00

Bought this Paint Magic book by Jocasta Innes about ten+ years ago.

I'm getting really bored of the smooth sheet rock walls in my home. While looking for an older book for my son, I came across this book. I did a lot of the painting techniques at on older residence and remembered how much I like the look of old plaster walls and stenciling.

I went off to my local hardware store and bought a huge bucket of texture stone and started applying the mixture to a small sized room. The mixture looks like plaster and is really absorbent for color. Here is a small section with the texture stone applied to a wall -

I love the look of these walls! My grandma had these exact type of walls with a light pink color wash. I will not be putting pink on my walls - but will be trying one of the methods suggested in the book. For paint they suggest watered down acrylics. I might do a light turquoise with my own stencil or stamp. Will post pics as I transform the room.

Pics from my garden, biking, art, and other stuff

2011-05-21T20:02:00.003-05:00

Garden

Creeping Charlie & Lysimachia 

I Don't like using chemicals in my garden & hate pulling all the creeping charlie so I bought Lysimachia a perennial. The different shades of green is appealing. No pulling the creeping charlie!

Bike Ride

Out and about

Art Stuff
Journal Page

New journal

Birds for swap on atcs for all ~ not finished yet

More journals

Pictures and stuff

2011-05-09T21:24:00.001-05:00

I have been absolutely museless, lazy, and thinking to much lately which has caused me to drop out of swaps, stop posting, and not able able to take a step into my art area to draw, craft & make funny doodles. I have my reasons. Anyways, I have been goofing around with iphone photo apps and love them so much. Here are some recent snapshots using Lo-mob, Camerabag and Camera+.

More crochet necklaces on Etsy

2011-03-31T09:26:00.000-05:00

Made another crochet necklace yesterday. Lots of time - my youngest is home ill from school. Both of these crochet necklaces are avail in my Etsy shop. Here is the link

crochet necklace

2011-03-30T16:04:00.002-05:00

crochet necklace, a photo by kristibre on Flickr.

This one I made for myself

New crochet granny square necklace on Etsy

2011-03-30T15:52:00.000-05:00

Pendants for swap on atcs for all

2011-03-30T08:03:00.001-05:00

Journal cover is muslin with collaged ephemera or painted paper towels, and pva glue.

The journal covers were cut from dried muslin, then machine stitched for decoration. I connected a loop to the top of the journal cover using the sewing machine. The loop connects the rest of the necklace to the journal. Leather cording or wax linen thread was stitched to the sides of the journal to make a closure. I then bound the pages of the journal to the journal cover.

Each journal has 10 pages and the pendant measures a bit smaller then 2x2.

Building a huge granny square afghan

2011-03-29T12:52:00.000-05:00

Crocheting more squares

2011-03-24T16:04:00.002-05:00

New Scarf

2011-03-24T13:53:00.000-05:00

Cowl scarf added to Etsy shop

Journal page

2011-03-11T17:11:00.001-06:00

Taking sketchbook delight class. lesson #1 was listing the art supplies you have and showing an example of the item. I made a scribble and found a face.

Journals

2011-03-11T17:05:00.000-06:00

Just added to my Etsy -

New Journal on my Etsy

2011-03-08T20:46:00.000-06:00

Scrapbook/Journal avail on my Etsy

2011-03-06T07:26:00.000-06:00

Accordion Journal

2011-03-03T06:43:00.002-06:00

I recently saw a journal kit on sale at Archivers, ($25 bucks - $24.99 yikes!) was going to buy, but decided I have so many painted papers, copies of my art, and scrapbook papers (I have too many scrapbook pages), that I decided to make my own accordion journal at home.

I followed the instructions from a book called How to Make Books.

I wanted my accordion book to close, so I also stab bound the pages together and added some beads. I like how the pages fan out when the journal is placed up.

Funny email

2011-02-28T20:05:00.001-06:00

Funny email - my spell check. Auto check spelling changes placemats to placentas!

I'm just looking back at my email and laughing at what I sent you. Must be my spell checker trying to correct a word. How hilarious! Actually Jane told me that Jane M would get back to me but no notice from her yet.

Thanks!
Kristi

On Feb 23, 2011, at 8:07 AM, Angie wrote:

Actually, I have no idea. I was just asked to forward the email. If you want to email Jane P she can fill you in with the details.
Thanks for helping out, Kristi!

On Feb 23, 2011, at 7:00 AM, Kristi wrote:

Hi Angie,
I can cut and laminate some placentas. What time today?
Kristi

Pencil doodles

2011-02-27T08:46:00.002-06:00

Me cross country skiing

2011-02-26T14:50:00.001-06:00

Geoff Bremner
President, Modern Climate

612-518-6400

Cross Country skiing today

2011-02-26T14:47:00.000-06:00

Collage for Feather your nest swap - Alpha stamps

2011-02-23T12:08:00.000-06:00

More snow!

2011-02-20T17:57:00.000-06:00

First hexagon

2011-02-17T17:57:00.000-06:00

New journal added to Etsy

2011-02-11T08:55:00.000-06:00

Scarves for special olympics done

2011-02-09T17:39:00.001-06:00

journal page

2011-02-05T16:14:00.000-06:00

journal page in progress

Journal Page feb 5

2011-02-05T15:17:00.003-06:00

Journal idea from the book The Awe-Manac A daily dose of wonder by Jill Badonsky. Todays word pool - window. The birds and legs are made from left over painted canvas I had from some dotees I made. I flip flopped the scraps and they looked liked legs with socks so a journal page was created.
Birds eye view of my art desk area. I really am uncluttered.

Dotee Out Of Paper Fabric

2011-02-05T12:44:00.002-06:00

Dotee Out Of Paper Fabric
Originally uploaded by kristibre

Made this doll for a swap. The body of the dotee is paper fabric. I collage ephemera onto muslin or canvas with elmers glue or paste glue for book binding. After the paper fabric dries I either stamp the paper fabric with my hand carved stamps, add some machine stitching or thread, then apply a layer of regular gel medium.

New Journals in Etsy shop

2011-02-05T12:35:00.000-06:00

Scarves for special olympics

2011-02-04T07:22:00.003-06:00

Journal Swap bot
Originally uploaded by kristibre

Mailing out my scarves soon for the Special Olympics. I'm donating three scarves in honor of my Aunt. While my parents worked, or had other events going on, I stayed with my grandparents and my Aunt. The photo was taken (i think) when I was five or six.

Acrylics on fabric and paper - going to start stamping and making more journals

2011-02-01T13:32:00.002-06:00

Working on second scarf for special olympics

2011-01-28T16:16:00.001-06:00

Morning ritual journal page

2011-01-21T17:34:00.002-06:00

What I listened to today while running around doing errands

Bright eyes I'm wide awake it morning

Check here for a listen -
http://www.myspace.com/brighteyes/music/albums/i-m-wide-awake-it-s-morning-8512493

First altered hand for swap on acts for all

2011-01-21T16:10:00.002-06:00

My second granny square pillow

2011-01-21T16:03:00.002-06:00

Working on a Mish mash (all color) granny square blanket! My granny taught me how to crochet!

2011-01-21T16:02:00.002-06:00

Hipster print of yarn ball for swap bot

2011-01-21T09:56:00.002-06:00

Journal entry #2 Winter Wonderland

2011-01-19T14:07:00.002-06:00

Photos of my front yard and a ski resort in Biwabik Mn. Most of my front yard is a driveway - I have one little tree right in the front of my house which has been uprooted because of all the snow we have had. I'm not sure if it will survive this winter.

Painted papers/journaling daily

2011-01-18T21:33:00.000-06:00

Painted papers first ~ need to start doodling! Maybe tomorrow .....

Journals

2011-01-18T21:25:00.001-06:00

Ok I'm a bit behind journaling daily with Traci Bautistas group ~ I've been busy with other stuff. I have a hard time bringing myself to sit down and start doodling and writing. I love being active and very rarely sit, I usually stand and when I need a break, I stand and crochet (zone out time).

Since the new year has begun, I've started making some art Journals. I took a class on binding and used some of Traci's techniques for painting papers and made some really nice journals (I kept one for myself) The journals are for sale on my Etsy site!

Another pic of the granny squares for swapbot

2011-01-10T19:54:00.001-06:00

Granny squares for swap on swapbot

2011-01-10T19:52:00.002-06:00

New atc cards for swap on atc's for all

2010-12-14T08:37:00.000-06:00

New swap

2010-12-09T15:28:00.001-06:00

I've been busy lately and haven't found the time to post. Thanksgiving, birthdays, kids & and myself sick + holiday shopping and all the other stuff I do every day normally. 

I joined a swap on atcs for all where you make gifts for eight people in your group. You then receive one holiday gift from each group member.  I just received my box and am anxiously waiting to open.
I made different gifts for each person which included mixed media, crochet, and atc journals. 

The gift tags were fabric scraps I created from a class on Creshendoh (class is taught by Danita). Each card has a pocket for a MOO card. 

My gifts I sent out

The box I got back - will post what I received!

Beef Stew

2010-11-11T21:53:00.001-06:00

What you will need:

Crock pot

 1 lb to 2lbs of beef stew meat depending on how much you want to make

1 - 2  28 oz cans of stewed tomatoes

1 pkg (or 2) of mcCormicks onion gravy - I noticed they just came out with a beef stew mix pkg 

(you could use as well) 

1 pkg baby carrots (organic if you want)

5 or 6 chopped potatoes leave the skin on or peel off - up to you

Onion if you like 

Celery too

Salt and pepper

Cook the beef stew meat in a separate pan. When finished add to crock pot. 

add the rest of the ingredients

Cook in crock pot 5 to 6 hrs on high (or more if you chose warm)
The stew is best when it's cooked for a long time 

Art on my walls

2010-11-04T14:58:00.003-05:00

What my walls are adorned with

Found these for a awesome price at a antique store - love the color of the frames

Susan Wyman

My kids art

My moo cards

More of my stuff

haven't gotten around to framing yet

Jimmotheus on Etsy

carambatack on Etsy

tumblefishstudio and Teesha Moore on Etsy

Phil Hoch can find at Deviant Art

My dad the artist. He does wildlife art in colored pencils and paint. He has tried numerous times to win the duck stamp but never took first place. I think the best he ever placed was 10th or 12th. I have tons of his prints. He also sketches and paints dogs. I have never really liked wildlife art - but over the last few years I have developed a greater appreciation for his art and the time he has put into his pieces/also the meaning.

He is also a sketch artist.

I have lots more stuff on my walls - ships on wood, assemblage art of a cottage (a room) from my grandmother, frames, suns, statues and mirrors. I need to frame more of my stuff and will post back.

Collage paper/fabric for new journal cover

2010-10-15T15:37:00.000-05:00

Front Cover

Back cover

Journal

2010-10-15T15:32:00.001-05:00

Been adding to my journal - a cool photo I distressed is missing!!?? What the .....

Happy Halloween

2010-10-14T14:24:00.001-05:00

New journal

2010-10-14T06:53:00.001-05:00

New journal added to Etsy - fabriano paper, bound journal.

These journals are fun to make!

I first paint a bunch of papers, (if you want to learn some cool painting techniques you should pick up Tracy Bautista's collage unleashed book) choose papers I like, grab a pane of glass (size of pane determines what size journal you want to make) cover the back of the paper with matte gel medium or acrylic matte medium. I then press the paper onto the pane of glass smoothing out bumps and wrinkles in the paper. I apply a layer of gel medium to the front of the paper and collage more papers or just leave it like it is. The above photo is one sheet of paper. The gel medium needs to dry completely before peeling the paper away from the glass.

After drying, peel the paper away and you have paper that feels like leather or a heavy fabric (depending on how much you collage). Trim the edges, add sewing, or embellishments if you want, make your signatures, and add the journal cover.

For the inside cover, I added a painted paper towel and backing to give the cover some strength. Added sewing and some grommets with linen cording for a closure.

crochet coin purse

2010-10-14T06:31:00.001-05:00

Crochet coin purse on my Etsy. Heart embellishment on the outside with beads - the inside lining is a lavender color (crochet).

Journal Page

2010-10-02T09:38:00.001-05:00

Another journal page I worked on this summer. I spray painted with stencils and then added a black and white copy of a transfer from one of the yahoo groups free images pool. I cut the papers, then machine stitched some together. I then doodled around the transfer. I still think the journal page is a wip. The page is much bigger - then what I was able to scan.

Journal page

2010-10-02T09:31:00.000-05:00

Journal page I drew while on a trip this summer. I took a blank sheet of journal paper and added luminere paints to them. After the paints dried, I applied gesso to the pages. I then looked at the gesso and found an image to sketch. I added gum wrappers (the ones with circles on them) and finished the journal page with colored pencils and markers. The image on the right was taken with my iphone and then I used the grunge app for photos. 

atcs

2010-10-02T09:21:00.000-05:00

For swap on atcs for all - blind drawing (not looking while you draw)

Tree atc

2010-10-02T09:14:00.003-05:00

Recycled necklace

2010-10-02T09:12:00.000-05:00

Recycled necklace avail on my Etsy

Cowl crochet scarf

2010-10-02T09:07:00.000-05:00

Avail on Etsy - 

Journal avail on my Etsy

2010-10-02T08:58:00.000-05:00

Stitched journal with fabriano paper avail on my etsy - the fabric used to make the cover is recycled muslin I found at a thrift store. I dyed the fabric. The journal is hand bound with linen thread and the paper is Fabiano. Great journal for mixed media art or watercolors.

Tropical fish for swap Atcs for all

2010-10-02T08:47:00.000-05:00

Colored pencils, markers, spray paint

Collaged tags for swap

2010-10-02T08:42:00.000-05:00

South Dakota Trip

2010-09-12T08:31:00.003-05:00

Our second trip to South Dakota - what a beautiful place. Stayed in Custer Park area.

Another Afghan

2010-09-12T08:16:00.000-05:00

Made this afghan as well - this one was a gift for my son.

Mexican beef stew

2010-09-06T11:39:00.002-05:00

Mexican beef stew

7 red small potatoes peeled and cubed 
1 can of 16 oz refried beans (fat free)

2 cups of reduced sodium beef broth

1 can of enchilada sauce (10 oz)

2 cups of corn

1 or 2 onions chopped 

1 can of chopped green chilies

1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice

2 tsp ground cumin

a couple of dashes of red pepper flakes

1 boneless beef chuck roast (2 pounds or more - need to adjust recipe for more)

sour cream

In a slow cooker, combine the first 11 ingredients, cut roast into smaller pieces and transfer to slow cooker.

Cover and cook on low for 6 - 8 hrs

Serve with sour cream

Felted Afghan

2010-09-04T10:40:00.001-05:00

Was working on this afghan all summer - just completed it. It turned out slightly smaller than what I had anticipated. After crocheting, I decided to felt the afghan. I put it in my washer (a little soap, hot water) I loved the way the afghan turned out. I love the felted look especially how the edging turned out.

New journal

2010-09-03T09:24:00.000-05:00

New journal added to Etsy

Domino bead braclet

2010-09-03T09:19:00.001-05:00

just added to my Etsy

Sculpture Gardens

2010-08-26T17:04:00.002-05:00

Went with my kids and visited the sculpture Gardens in Mpls Mn. I was married in this park and like to visit every now and then to see if it's changed much, but unfortunately it hasn't. I wanted to get married at the Basillica (a Catholic church) but our wedding date was not available (June 24th? 25? Yhish I can't remember) - So we chose the closest park etc. to the church.

Some days I feel like I'm wrestling this turkey? Chicken? Vulture?

Basillica

Honey-Glazed Applesauce Muffins

2010-08-26T16:47:00.000-05:00

Another recipe my kids love from the book Baking Basics and Beyond by Pat Sinclair -

1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup applesauce

1/3 cup veggie oil

1/2 cup honey

1 egg beaten

Honey Glaze

1/4 butter melted

1/4 cup honey

Heat oven to 400 with rack in middle. Oil or spray a muffin tray. The recipe should make 12.

Combine the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl combine the oil, honey, applesauce, and egg.

Mix the applesauce mixture into the flour mixture until flour is moistened. They should bake anywhere btwn 18 and 23 minutes until lightly browned (or do the toothpick trick)

Heat the butter and honey. When butter is melted pour or brush mixture over the muffins.

Back from summer vacation

2010-08-18T21:39:00.003-05:00

Back from our summer vacation - did a couple of scavenger hunts for my kids. For the first one I did a crochet bomb around a tree and gave them a general direction on where to find. Here are some pics:

For the second I did a collage - We lost interest and ended up swimming.

Chicken Chow Mein

2010-08-18T18:33:00.002-05:00

I make this all the time - my kids really like it

1 cup low sodium chicken broth

2 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon peanut oil

4 scallions thinly sliced

small bit of chopped ginger root

1 garlic clove minced

2 celery stocks thinly sliced

1/2 red bell pepper diced

1 cup bean sprouts

pkg of cooked sliced skinless chicken breast

chow mein noodles

Whisk the broth, cornstarch, soy sauce and sugar.

In a wok or reg. fry pan heat peanut oil. Add scallions, ginger, garlic cook until scallions are softened.

Add celery and pepper cook until softened.

Stir in bean sprouts, add the cooked chicken and broth mixture. Stir until sauce thickens.

Put the chicken mixture on top of the chow mein noodles - serve with rice and fortune cookies.

Strip ease crusade # 42

2010-07-08T21:18:00.002-05:00

More ripped papers - Link - i then spray painted and stamped over them with the new stamps i carved.

Gpp street team # 42 Strip ease

2010-07-08T21:01:00.001-05:00

Ripping paper to strips is the theme. Street team # 42

Last week while trying to keep my kids busy, I decided to take an old phone book and start ripping the phone pages in long strips, my youngest helped. We then put all the paper into a bowl filled with water. After letting the paper sit in water for a day, I used a glue recipe from the book Kids Crazy Art Concoctions by Jill Hauser. We used the instant flour molding paste of flour and water and added the paste to the drained and squeezed paper. My son made a pinch pot - I decided to roll the paper into beads then used a safety pin to make the hole. After letting the beads air dry, some turned out really neat with the phone book names and numbers on the beads. On some, I added words and painted fabric.

Coupons

2010-07-08T15:12:00.002-05:00

Today on my way to the dentist I was thinking about coupons and how funny it would be if lets say you went to your office desk and on it there were a pile of coupons left for you. Or getting a letter from a relative with coupons inside. This reminds me of something my grandma would do. In one of my journals I wrote this and decided to be brave and share my journal page. The journal page is from scrapbooking graphics and the designer is lmurphy.

Jewelry

2010-07-08T12:01:00.000-05:00