Sunday 18 December 2011

Sunday again

Good morning you all! Yesterday was another day that disappeared very quickly. Perhaps it's because it gets dark so quickly, I don't know, but I have the feeling that the clocks are spinning faster and faster. There was no nice sunrise today, though - it's grey in grey and dripping wet, not worth taking a photo of!

I thought it was time I did another journal spread, as I didn't get round to opening my journal all week due to time at the dentist and other crafty projects that took a lot of time. I gave the pages a coat of gesso first, and then the rest just happened. The umbrella man has been made using the waste from a die-cut as a template, as I have the die but not the stamp. I like the soft look better than the die-cuts themselves here. I am not yet sure if I should give the pages some more colour - we shall see!




And as it's Sunday, another joke from Narda:


Working as a computer instructor for an adult-education program at a community college, I am keenly aware of the gap in computer knowledge between my younger and older students.

My observations were confirmed the day a new student walked into our library area and glanced at the encyclopedia volumes stacked on a bookshelf.

"What are all these books?" he asked.

Somewhat surprised, I replied that they were encyclopedias.

"Really?" he said. "Someone printed out the whole DVD?"

Have a good day you all, take care of yourselves, and thanks for looking in!

Saturday 17 December 2011

The Good and the Bad....

This is the umpteenth continuation of the still not ended story of *My Dentist and I*. First the good news - I now belong to the crowned heads of Europe. Well, the crowns are now on my teeth after many long struggles. The dentist has so much patience, he kept filing till it all fitted, and all of a sudden it was done! But now for the bad news - I have to go back again next Thursday, for a final check up and control....And then, I hope, it will be over!! Yoooohoooooo! After weeks of living off food like semolina and mashed potatoes, I will be able to bite again! I was really knocked out by the time I got back home, it is very strenuous lying there open mouthed for over 2 hours. I bet the dentist and his 2 assistants were tired out, too. Anyway, I treated myself to an afternoon on my recliner with Harry Potter for company. In the evening I managed 2 little note books; one with a Claude Lorrain cover again, and the other in gold-leather look with a wire binding. Then I spent the rest of the evening lazing, too; sometimes it is just necessary.



As I was up early this morning, I managed to catch another beautiful sunrise from my balcony, although t was freezing cold outside!







As I am writing, a band of cloud has already covered it up!
And this is a You-tube Video sent to me by Narda again, it is from the Carlson School of Management in Minnesota. Enjoy!



Have a great day you all, take care, and thanks for stopping by!

Friday 16 December 2011

Paint Party Friday Week # 40

Good morning you all, another week has sped by; Christmas is nearly upon us, we have only two weeks left till the year is over, and it's PPF again, hosted as always by Eva and Kristin.
I didn't have much time for painting this week, as I needed to do mounds of washing (wonder who makes everything dirty?), make several visits to the dentist, and complete a lot of other projects that I need now. My *Smash Book* is finished, looks good, even if I say it myself, and seems to be related to me - it's got very fat around the middle - now that everything is in it. I have made it a *belly-binder* out of green striped ribbon to hold it all together.

But back to PPF. I started painting a picture of the lunar eclipse which we had here on December 10th, I have used acrylics, water colours and pastels. I am not happy with it yet, so will continue work on it next week. The photo is definitely better!




And this is a picture which I have been working on here and there for the past couple of weeks. It has been painted on Anna Griffin paper, then stamped, and has some dry gel transfers added. I think I will leave it as it is now.




That's all for today! I am off to the dentist now, hopefully for the final,and absolutely final visit this year - more about it tomorrow! Have a good day, take care of yourselves, and thanks a lot for dropping in!

Thursday 15 December 2011

The Never Ending Story....

I seem to remember having my *last* appointment with the dentist on Monday....and the appointment today was going to be the very last. Then why the heck do I have to go back again on Friday???? But the dentist said this will really and definitely be the last time - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!! I just hope so, this has been going on now since July 22nd, more than long enough.

We had a very stormy and blustery day yesterday, and after I came back from the dentist I got the rest of the washing done, so that was something. And it gives me some good exercise, as I have to run up and down three flights of stairs to load the washing machine and the tumble-dryer, so I had a good conscience when I started crafting again. I made another album today, and carried on working on my smash book, which got several extra pockets and some more embellishments, and is now nearly looking like it should. Here are a few more sneak peaks:






Here is the concertina album. The chipboard covers have been covered with more pictures from Claude Lorrain, taken from the ripped book I found here in the old paper bin. The pages can be used from both sides, and are large enough to take A6 photos. Some small pages have been sewn in to give lots of space for journaling, too. The album has a black elastic band to hold it shut. I registered an Etsy shop some weeks back, and after Christmas I will be putting some of my notebooks for sale there.




And before I close, some Christmas Cookie tips from Narda:
Christmas Cookie Rules..


1. If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookie is the test and thus calorie free.

2. If you drink a diet soda after eating your second cookie, it also has no calories because the diet soda cancels out the cookie calories.

3. If a friend comes over while you're making your Christmas cookies and needs to sample, you must sample with your friend. Because your friend's first cookie is calories free, (rule #1) yours is also. It would be rude to let your friend sample alone and, being the friend that you are, that makes your cookie calorie free.

4. Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to your feet and eventually fall off as you move. This is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.

5. Any calories consumed during the frosting of the Christmas cookies will be used up because it takes many calories to lick excess frosting from a knife without cutting your tongue.

6. Cookies colored red or green have very few calories. Red ones have three and green ones have five - one calorie for each letter. Make more red ones!

7. Cookies eaten while watching "Miracle on 34th Street" have no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.

8. As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process of breaking causes calorie leakage.

9. Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate have no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to their plate. We all know how calories like to CLING!

10. Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories. It's a rule!

So, go out and enjoy those Christmas Cookies - we only get them this time of year!


That was all for now! Have a good day, whatever you are up to, take care, and thanks for dropping by!

Wednesday 14 December 2011

*Smash* Book - WIP

I started work on a smash book yesterday, and have got the basic pages done, but still need to embellish it and add some little things as presents. I used different sorts of scrapbook paper, cut to just under A4 size, and alternated the pages with craft paper, craft envelopes and brown paper bags to use for storage, water-colour paper, some old ledger pages, little bags of goodies and some pockets to take tags and file-cards etc. I varied the size of some of the pages to make it a bit more interesting. The papers used are from Graphics 45, DCWV, Bohemia and others. There's plenty of room for the recipient to add photos, journaling or whatever!

Here are a few shots to give you an idea:







The covers have been made from the cardboard backing of a painting block, painted with white acrylic, and then toned down with antique linen DI. They have been further distressed with forest moss, vintage photo and a tiny bit of Inka gold. As I still haven't found the D-rings, I have ordered some more, which should be here by the weekend, I am sure that I will then find the *lost* packet, too....


I'm off to the dentist now, so here's wishing you all a good day. Take care, and thanks a lot for visiting!


Tuesday 13 December 2011

Dentist and More Notebooks

Did I say yesterday that I was going for my last visit to the dentist? Well, it didn't quite turn out as planned, so after another hour of being worked on, I now have my last appointment on Wednesday....I seriously hope that this time it really will be the last session!

And apart from that, I didn't get too much done. Just three notebooks this time, as I needed half an hour's shut-eye in the afternoon. The first notebook has been made using book covers from Seven Gypsies, which I won some time back in a blog candy. The pages have been cut from torchon water-colour paper, so they will be nice for sketching and painting, too. I chose a ring binding so that I can add more pages as necessary, but then I couldn't find the rings. I recently bought some of Tim's antique-looking D-Rings, but they seem to have been swallowed by my bottomless pit AKA hall closet. But I did find the Xmas brads and card decorations I had been looking for....I'm finished with my cards for this year, so I will have to keep them till the next one! So I had to use some ribbon to tie the book together for the time being. The small red notebook was made using the left over leather-look paper from the pocket-book I made the day before, and the off-cuts of water-colour paper left over from the first book. I bound it with my BIA. The third note book has chipboard covers, which I covered with pieces cut from a reproduction of a painting from Claude Lorrain. The picture was torn, so I cut the pieces out round about the rip. I think I will leave the ribbon ties on this one, as rings will be too big.









And to close, I have another funny that Narda sent:

Christmas at Rock-Away Rest

Twas the night before Christmas at Rock-Away Rest,
and all of us seniors were looking our best.
Our glasses, how sparkly, our wrinkles, how merry;
Our punchbowl held prune juice plus three drops of sherry.

A bedsock was taped to each walker, in hope
That Santa would bring us soft candy and soap.
We surely were lucky to be there with friends,
Secure in this residence and in our Depends.
=
Our grandkids had sent us some Christmasy crafts,
Like angels in snowsuits and penguins on rafts.
The dental assistant had borrowed our teeth,
And from them she'd crafted a holiday wreath.

The bed pans, so shiny, all stood in a row,
Reflecting our candle's magnificent glow.
Our supper so festive -- the joy wouldn't stop --
Was creamy warm oatmeal with sprinkles on top.

Our salad was Jell-O, so jiggly and great,
Then puree of fruitcake was spooned on each plate.
The social director then had us play games,
Like "Where Are You Living?" and "What Are Your Names?"

Old Grandfather Looper was feeling his oats,
Proclaiming that reindeer were nothing but goats.
Our resident wand'rer was tied to her chair,
In hopes that at bedtime she still would be there.

Security lights on the new fallen snow
Made outdoors seem noon to the old folks below.
Then out on the porch there arose quite a clatter
(But we are so deaf that it just didn't matter).

A strange little fellow flew in through the door,
Then tripped on the sill and fell flat on the floor.
Twas just our director, all togged out in red.
He jiggled and chuckled and patted each head.

We knew from the way that he strutted and jived
Our social- security checks had arrived.
We sang -- how we sang -- in our monotone croak,
Till the clock tinkled out its soft eight-p.m. stroke.

And soon we were snuggling deep in our beds.
While nurses distributed nocturnal meds.
And so ends our Christmas at Rock-Away Rest.
Before long you'll be with us, We wish you the best!

Hope you all have a good day, take care and thanks for dropping in!

Sunday 11 December 2011

Notebooks Galore

Hi everybody, hope you are all well and fit. I stayed at home over the weekend - well, actually I had nowhere else to go! I could have spent the weekend doing H*******K, which is rather necessary, but instead I started making notebooks. I found a big pile of lovely papers, mostly from Anna Griffin, and actually managed to cut them up. I suppose this is the destiny of papers, even nice ones.

The first one is an altered spiral bound notebook; I removed the covers, covered them, and then fiddled them back onto the spiral.


The second one is like the ones I made last week, with a tag-pocket inside.



The next three each have a *built in* matching bookmark, and a bookplate on the cover. I didn't use any lace this time, as there are some strange people who prefer it plain and simple!




And the last ones are small pocket books with lots of pouches for receipts etc. They would also be nice to give with a present of money, that is, if I had any to give away this year! The covers have been made from some leather-look paper, and for the pages I used 2 coordinating papers. I used small bookplates as decorations, and added thin ribbons with beaded ends to close them.





I tried making another one, but then I started to stick the wrong sides together, and thought it might be time for a break!
I have to go to the dentist today, for the final treatment - I hope! Have a good day you all, take care, and thanks for dropping by!