Category Archives: Journaling

Sep8

Fun With Bits & Pieces

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Sometimes we just have to pull back, and find another way to create and have fun!

When I get bottled up and can’t find a way out,  creating on a small-scale is just the thing!

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Greeting cards in a store feel so impersonal, & never say the right thing, so my own cards seem perfect.  Now I realize many people don’t send cards any longer,  heck they don’t even know how to R.S.V.P.  Sadly, that means to Reply, even if you’re not going to whatever you’ve been invited to.  After a while we just simply won’t invite you any more.   But this post isn’t about bad manners!

On Wednesdays, I get together  with a group of ladies who sit  and create, but my creations are usually on a larger scale, and lugging them around is a drag.  So I take things I can do on the run.  Things that don’t take a lot to carry or use paint on.  Simpler things…..

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These little things would be greeting cards.  Some would say to themselves,  “what are greeting cards?”  This in part is because of text messaging, and electronic devices of all kinds.  I don’t tweet,  just can’t seem to figure out why I’d need to!  That makes me a dinosaur.

Sometimes one or two of the girls have fun pitching in and putting left over pieces together, and sometimes they all have their own things to work on, but whatever happens, we always have fun.

There is nothing like sharing creative energy!

Sep4

Laborday Weekend

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Work in progress

Work in progress

I offer you my apologies for slipping the last couple of weeks. Les and I had a four-legged house guest a few weeks ago, and I didn’t realize it at the time, but having a puppy around the house really was tiring. We haven’t had a puppy in maybe twenty years…….I had forgotten how demanding they are.

Patch

Patch

The puppy and our dog Daisy had a fantastic time together, and are now quite lost by themselves.  But you know how it is with a couple of young kids, they have to be watched all the time.  Two dogs is exactly the same!

Daisy & Patch

Daisy & Patch

The couple of weeks that have followed have thrown me, and admittedly, I have neglected my blogging obligations!  I really love to blog, and sometimes my blogs are more interesting to write, sometimes I struggle.  I’m sure it is probably the same for everyone.  Then there are the times a few days pass, I’ve been extremely busy, and before I know it, someone asks me about my blog, and I realize I’ve forgotten to write.

This post was supposed to be a quick…

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This weekend my husband has concerts, and rehearsals for the concerts, so I’m going to take this time and paint.  Alone and quiet in my studio, I’ll turn on my iPod full of Artsie Fartsie Painting Music, and get out the paints and brushes, scrapers, and drippers…  I’ll be rockin’ to the music, and totally in my right brain.  My phone will be turned off, I’ll forget to eat anything, I won’t answer the door, and won’t stop to have coffee……and I won’t starve either.   

This is my happy time, and I’m loving it.  Life is good!

Have a fun weekend everyone…

Sep1

Not For The Faint of Heart!

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To be named

To be named

 

This is not for the faint of heart! Not even for the masses, so if you are at all squemish….do not read this post!

Not long ago, I mentioned that I had a new -Grand-snake.  I know, I know…..who has Grand-snakes?   Well, I do!  My kids have all grown up with little creatures of all kinds.  We’ve had spiders, snakes, tarantulas, skunks, all kinds of dogs, cats, frogs, you name it, and I’ll bet we’ve had at least one.

Now that everyone is grown up, and some of my kids have kids of their own, the fun continues.   Even my son Chris, who isn’t married, and doesn’t have any kids…..has creatures.  Mostly snakes, no more spiders, but usually snakes.  Chris recently bought a Blood Python at the Reptile Show the first of  August.  As soon as he got it home he thought something was wrong. One day went into the next,  he tried calling the breeder’s,  but to no avail.  Three weeks later, Chris again  mentioned the snake was acting strangely, and he was certain something was wrong, and a few days later it took its last breath!

Immediately the snake went  into the freezer while Chris researched what could be wrong.  Without any luck,  he resigned himself to the fact that he had a snake die on his watch.  Something that has never happened.  Many people have found snakes over the years, and brought them to Chris.  He has always been able to care for them, and get them healthy again.  But this time was different, and he felt terrible.

As we talked about the possible causes, and what he might have done differently, he mentioned that he’d love to save the snake-skin.  After  calling all around, he wasn’t able to find anyone that wanted to skin a baby snake.

This made me turn to YouTube for the information.  

After watching a YouTube video on skinning and tanning snakes, I volunteered his sister, and myself for the job!  I just couldn’t wait to get into the operating room!

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These pictures are of the skinning, and tanning.

We started by cutting down the underbelly of the snake.

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After trying to save the head and tail we decided that it wasn’t going to be possible.

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Once we were able to separate the body of the snake from the skin it was smooth sailing...so to speak.

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We then scraped the edges of both sides to remove any fatty tissue.  This will rot and ruin the skin if not removed before the  tanning process.

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After everything had been removed from the skin, we stretched and rolled very carefully.  It’s so amazing how tough the skin is and at the same time how delicate it is.

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One might say this is a two-man job because of the care that has to be taken.

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After it is rolled onto a stick, we put it into a 50/50 solution of Alcohol and Glycerin.  It will stay in a sealed jar  from one to two weeks while it cures or tans.  Shaking it gently so the solution  doesn’t separate.

I’ll be back to let you know how it turned out, but so far everything looks great and it all went as planned!

Thanks for putting up with my strange sense of humor, dark at it might be. I told you artists were a little crazy!

Aug20

Thursday Time Out For Art

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Les, Chris, Karen, Dennis

Les, Chris, Karen, Dennis

Sometimes art isn’t just a painting, or writing a novel, or even a musical score that is art.  Art is in the eye of the beholder!

Here is a picture of my husband and myself, with my sons, Chris and Dennis.  We took a vacation together on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.  Not only was the experience the beauty of being in this fabulous place, but also being in this fabulous place together.  We have a timeshare on Kauai, and this was one of those special times when we were able to get both boys together at the same time.  I will always remember these special moments that we are able to share with the family as priceless.  We explored, tried new foods, and places to eat.  We even shopped at resale  stores…..just to see what they had.

Isn’t it funny that every where we travel we almost always have to check out the local Costco, Wal-Mart, and even second-hand stores to see if they are the same.  You just never know!

Usually we get a condos with a kitchen, that way we don’t have to eat out three times a day for seven days.   We like being able to make a pot of coffee, and have bagels for breakfast on the deck or patio.  The rest is up for grabs, and we are usually scrambling to eat all the food, or trying to figure out how to take it back home with us because we had purchased way to much at Costco.

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We always have fun as a family, never have any regrets, arguments, or anything else negative!  Pretty amazing if you ask me.