Inspire Me Thursday - Open Studio

"It’s open studio week. Create anything you would like and share it with us, along with pictures of where you created it."

I'm late.... this was the challenge for last week, but since new challenge isn't posted yet I guess it's okay. I don't have a studio, but I do have a great spot for creating - a big table, drawers... Unfortunately, most of the time it looks like you see it on the following picture:
Of course, I couldn't create paste papers in that mess, so I invaded the dining room table and the balcony.

Tag booklets

Connie and I had our art date on Monday morning. She is a sweetheart - I call her my Santa Clause because she always brings me lovely things. This time there was a bag filled with brushes, double stick tape, brush basin... and my absolute favorite - a selection of old keys. I love looking at them!
We were having fun with distress inks and shipping tags. The technique is easy, messy and I love the results. We started by swiping three different colors directly from ink pads on a piece of wax paper. Then we sprayed them with water and pressed the tags on the inky puddles. The colors blended so nicely! Little stamping over and the tags were done.
What to do with the tags? So many things... This time I decided to make tiny journals. They are all similar, but have different closures and embellishments. I scattered them on etsy, eBay and even my website.

Artwords - Transformation

Another great word from Artwords blogspot! For some reason after reading the word transformation I thought about pregnancy... At first I wasn't sure if it is on the subject, but the more I thought about it the more transformations I could remember (from the time long ago when I was pregnant). I wanted to show transformations from the time we are born (not only we.... everything in nature) and especially transformations we as women go through. My journal entry didn't turn out completely the way I "saw it"... I may revisit it one day when my skills (hopefully) get better.

Two ACEOs

It seams like I didn't create ACEOs in ages! They are small! Several months ago I was so afraid to try anything bigger than 2.5"x3.5"... it's good to get out of the comfort zone from time to time.
As I'm sure you noticed that English is not my native language. I'm fighting with my sentences all the time. Right now I'm not sure if "Carry the sweet memories" makes any sense... Is it correct? Help...please.....

This and that...

Chrysti is organizing her studio and asked us to share our organizing tips and photos. So, here is my favorite organizational storage piece. I got it on a yard sale years ago. I'm not sure if it was meant for an office or a workshop, but it is very heavy and sturdy. The drawers are very deep and have spacers that can be moved to the position you like. I have so many things in these drawers... beads, wire and tools, eyelets and similar stuff, favorite stamps and stamp pads, cutting tools, bits and pieces... It would probably be a good idea to put labels (I started), but I use it so much that I know pretty much what's in each drawer. Even a better idea would be to keep the space in front of them clear so that I can open them without having to move too much stuff...
BTW - please go and check out Chrysti's blog. She is a great artist and a very giving person. She has a wonderful store on eBay and Collage Images group on Flickr where people share mostly royal free vintage photos. And, of course - Try It Tuesdays!
What else is new in my life? Not much... I decided that it was time for me to go back to the gym regularly. I stopped two months ago and I don't feel as good as when I'm exercising. So, to jump start my motivation again I bought the red iPod holder (I can't exercise without my 'gym playlist') and I have a new pedometer. Everyone is talking about the 10.000 steps we should take daily. I had no idea that it is that difficult. This is what I walked today - 6271 - a most of it was from the gym! I'm in shock!
I don't have any new artwork to show. I can't organize my time now that the school is over. I have small patches of time during the day that I should probably put to a better use... This is what I do - I take my watercolors to the pool and play with them while Hana is having fun with her friends. The time passes quickly... the only problem is that I have no clue how to paint anything decent with them. I'm showing this so that you can have a good laugh... Oh well...everything takes time and it's actually fun to experiment. Hope that everyone is enjoying the summer!

Happy Summer!

First day of summer... extra hot weather. My left arm (the one I use for everything) hurts so bad that I want to cry... but I didn’t because I received a lovely, completely unexpected package in the mail. It made the pain go away. Although I didn't expect a package I could recognize the style on the box before I read the name. Dear Cinda (Turquoise Cro) packed a box of goodies for me! A feast for all senses! My daughter wants to eat the candles - they smell unbelievable good (cinnamon buns & marble cake) YUM!!! I looked with wonder at the five-dollar bill until I read, "ice cream money - treat's on me". Thank you so much! I will eat the ice cream, thinking about you. I hope we meet one day. I love this cyber world because it makes the real world seem smaller, warmer and friendlier.

Inspire Me Thursday - In Good Time

"Get out the timer and set it for a reasonable amount of time — I am going to suggest 30 minutes, but you can adjust the time limit to what best suits your project, medium and work methodologies, but try to allow yourself less time than it usually takes you to complete a piece. Then challenge yourself to start and finish a piece of art before time is up. The point is not to haphazardly throw something together just for the sake of finishing it, but to challenge yourself to work fast so there is no time for second guessing yourself or letting any pesky inner critics speak their voices."
I didn't set the timer, but all photos in this entry are done much faster than I usually work. Yesterday I sketched some lovely green trees (minus the green leaves) while my daughter was having fun in the swimming pool. Last night... half asleep, I sketched this face on a piece of paper (that I used previously to try out my new spider pens). Today I wanted to draw/paint more trees... so I decided to try the "Inspire me Thursday" challenge and work fast, without second guessing every brush move. And I did. I combined the two sketches and finished this canvas much faster than I would normally do. My inner critic SCREAMED and is still screaming, but I feel some sense of calm... I don't know why. Probably because I decided that however it turns out it will be okay.