Some of My Work

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Junking Treasures

It's been awhile since I've posted
about my junking treasure hunts.
I go to estate sales,
garage sales,
flea markets
and thrift stores
when I can...
not as often as I used to,
but I still have fun with it!
I found these magazine holders
at a going out of business sale.
I got a lot of them for one dollar.
This is what they looked like
when I got them.

After I had them for awhile
I decided to do this to them...
They are turned around,
 (magazines are still in them),
painted black,
and stenciled with gold paint.
Looks pretty good on my book shelf.

My entry now has...

 this chair that I found at a flea market,
for one dollar,
AND
 the bamboo hat rack
 I found it at the thrift store
for 6 dollars.
I wear lots of hats,
and collect walking sticks,
so this was a good purchase.
I may redo them later on....
who knows. LOL

But my best find was....

an oval wooden table for 10 dollars.
(I forgot to take a before photo)
I had my DH cut it in half
and mount them to the wall in 2 rooms.
Now I have 2 half tables,
that I painted black,
costing me 5 dollars each.
This one above is in my dining area
covered with family photos.
The large basket under the table
and the smaller one on top of that
came from the thrift store too.
Large one for one dollar
and the small one was 50 cents.
Great storage.
Here is the other half of the table.
It is in my entry.
The painting above was done
by my daughter Amy.
The lamp was here in the house
when we bought it last year.
The metal cross was found outside on the patio
when we moved in.
The gourds in the basket
came from a local garden.

I could probably have another blog
about my junking adventures.
 I try to repurpose items,
save them from the landfill,
and make something useful out of things
that someone else didn't want.
It helps save the environment...
reduce, reuse, recycle!
You know how to do it!
So, that's another way that I...

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Full Moon Art Doll---April

The full moon is tonight,
so try to get out
and enjoy it's beauty.
The Native Americans name their full moons.
For April it can be ...
full pink,
full sprouting grass,
full egg
or full fish.
This is my
Full Fish Moon art doll 
for April. 
She is made from polymer clay,
with a brown sienna wash on her.
She stands about 7 inches tall
and is adorned with shells
from our local beach.
She is holding the full moon
and a jumping  fish.

is posting all the participants photos
in this Native American
Full Moon Project.
Some are doing fiber art pieces
and others are doing art dolls.
So go check it out sometime!

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

Creative Carmelina

 is having a wonderful giveaway.
Please go visit her...she has 2 blogs BTW,
and enter to win her wonderful prize.

My blogoversary giveaway will be announced soon!
So, keep checking back with me!

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Arbor Day Palms

Arbor Day in Texas is
 the last Friday in April.
Do you know when it is in your state?
If not, go here to find out.

My DH and I already planted several trees
in honor of Arbor Day this Friday.

This palm looks great in our backyard.
It is viewed from our patio
and will be near a future fence
we plan to build one day.
It is the kind of palm
 that grows about 10 ft. tall
and spreads about as wide,
with multiple trunks.

This one is now planted
 near the back corner
of the future fence.
It is a sago palm.
It is called a "palm",
but is actually a "cycad",
one of the oldest plants in the world.
It can live to be hundreds of years old.

We grouped the sago with 2 fan palms.
The fan palms will grow very tall.
I will eventually add many more plants in this area.
It is a sunny area,
away from the mesquite trees,
so hibiscus or oleander
 would do great.
I want something with flowers,
of course.
The area you see between the palms
and the patio is where
my labyrinth will be one day.

All of these palms were part of
our church Palm Sunday/Centennial celebration in March.
 They were being sold afterwards to
whoever wanted some.
 We purchased these 4,
as there were no other takers.
So, now I have a good memory
connected to these trees.
Plant a tree in honor of someone,
or something.

What are you doing for Arbor Day
in your area?
When is Arbor Day where you live?

Would love to hear from you.

There are many ways to...
Savor the Day!
Yvonne


Garden Update

We have been blessed by rain this past month.
Sometimes it was raging wind along with the rain,
but at least we got rain.
Last year at this time
we were in a very bad drought,
so I never complain about rain.

I started my garden toward the last week of February
and more seeds again in March...
planting by the moon,
like my dear old Granny used to do.
Well, this is my garden this week,
a little beat up but recovering
from the high winds and beating rain we had recently.

The cabbage plants are coming along,
each probably about 2 1/2 ft. in total diameter.

 
The bell peppers have blooms on them.
I'm already using my thyme for culinary purposes.
The swiss chard is very prolific
and I'm already sharing it with neighbors.
I was not raised eating swiss chard,
but I prefer it over mustard or turnip greens.
There are some very good recipes out there for
any kind of green leafy veggies you wish to grow,
and we all know how we need fresh green veggies
in our daily diet.

The lettuce is ready
and oh so good in our daily salads.
Tonight I will pick the first harvest of lettuce,
and with our fish and potatoes
the fresh salad lettuce will be wonderful.
We just use a light vinegar, herb and oil dressing,
as we finally got away from Ranch dressing.

My first tomatoes of the year!
Right now they are small,
but I have high hopes for these little fellas!
My DH made me some great tomato cages,
much cheaper than buying them ready made.
We bought a roll of wire
and I'm using it for the tomatoe cages,
the cucumber trellis,
and other projects.
My cucumbers are just about 3 inches tall right now,
but soon will be climbing all over the trellis.
I will show photos when they are climbing.

This is an heirloom tomato plant that a neighbor gave us.
It originated many years ago in Yugoslavia.
He ended up with some seeds,
germinated the seeds,
and gave us a plant.
He also gave us a German Pink
shown below.
Hopefully I can pass on these wonderful
heirloom seeds to someone else.
On both of these tomato plants
I pinched off the bottom leaves
and planted them deep in the ground,
so they would produce a good root system.
I just know these heirloom varieties
will out do and out taste the others.
This is the base of my Peace Pole,
in the center of my garden.
The prayer stones at the base
 are growing in number.
 Many of the stones came from different states
and were carried a long way
just to be placed here.
I want to thank everyone who has placed a stone here.

More about my Garden .....

Well, I still have corn growing in my three sisters mounds.
Read about the 3 sisters on my blog here.
The corn is now up about 10 inches
and almost ready for me to plant
 the bean seeds
around the base.
Then after the beans are up,
in will go the squash seeds.
I can't wait for that
because we love shrimp stuffed fried squash blossoms.
You can find my recipe here.
The basil is coming up,
and the okra is up now too.
My poor potatoes were just about beat to death
by the rain. 
I'm not sure they will make.
Time will tell.
Photos of all these later, when they get a bit bigger.

That's about it for my garden update this month.
Next  time I will show more updated photos,
tell you how the harvesting is going
and give you recipes to boot!

Savor (or savour) the day...
take pleasure in all the little things
each and every day,
and you will find joy!
Yvonne

One Bucket Dyeing

Hand dyeing fabric is so much fun!
There are a ton of techniques out there to try.
Several friends and I got together
and did a few pieces of muslin
with Procion MX dye.

We are always experimenting,
as that's part of the fun.
This time we did the usual techniques,

but also we tried
One Bucket Dyeing,
as seen in the next 3 photos.
I first soaked some muslin in some soda ash water,
as per the soda ash instructions.

I soaked the fabric for about 15-30 minutes.
While that was soaking I mixed up the dye colors...
yellow, green and purple.
I crumpled up each piece of fabric,
put the first one in the bucket,
then poured more soda ash water onto the piece,
and followed that with pouring some dye onto the fabric.
Then I added another piece of crumpled fabric on top of that.
Added more soda ash water and more dye.
I continued layering fabric, soda ash water and a different color dye.
I only did a few, because
I didn't know how it would turn out.
But I love the mottled look
of the fabric.
I think next time I will do more pieces,
but very gradually use darker and darker colors of dye.
I will go around the color wheel with color choices,
in this One Bucket Dyeing method.

Next dye day I also want to try using some instructions
from Mickey Lawler's
Skydyes book.
I love what she says in the front of the book.
"There are really only 2 things
 you need to remember
to successfully complete
the paintings in this book,
and you probably learned these
by the first grade...
64 crayons are more fun than 8
and
Recess is the best part of the day!"

She also says...

"What is required is
that you simply suspend
any desire for total control,
accept a playful attitude toward your work,
and allow a sense of awe
to be your daily companion."


Monday, April 26, 2010

Abstract Art and Blogoversary

 has been teaching us about abstract art.
If you have been following the process,
maybe you learned something
as I did.
 Her next instructions,
for this piece,
were to use stick like rectangles
and march them across
the horizontal area.
Use a color that will show up.
Here is my fiisihed piece...

This piece is paper and paint,
but
I would like to try this process
in fabric.
Remember,
your color wheel
is important.
I wanted to show you this same piece,
except upside down...

Does it work?

Try abstract art...

Reminder...
I haven't forgotten about my
blogoversary on May 5th.
I will be having a giveaway,
and will be posting about the details
by May 1st.
The drawing will be on May 5th.
So stay tuned!

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

Friday, April 23, 2010

Flower Blocks

 Well, I won the theme blocks
at our quilting bee again!
This time the theme was
wildflowers/flowers.
Here are the blocks I won...

Bleach discharged flower

photo transfer with free motion embroidery

hand dyed fabric with fussy cut flowers

shibori with fabric painted and fussy cut flowers

Almost every time we make blocks,
everyone is staying away from
the traditional pieced block
and using their creative imaginations more.

All of these may not be put together
 into one finished piece,
but into separate art quilts.
Now I have to use MY
creative imagination!

Next theme is...
funky rooster!
This should be FUN!

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Art...try something new!

Here is my next step for the
Fiber Art Society exquisite "lady" project.
That's what we are calling it,
instead of exquisite corpse,
because some of the ladies in the group
do not like that word...corpse.
So, out it goes!
Anyway,
for my block there are pieces in the background
that I fused onto the fabric.
I will be doing some free motion quilting
and adding embellishments to these.
My last step will be to add the hair.
I know she doesn't look like much now,
but wait till you see it all put together...
all the blocks,
each one done by a different artist.
It's exciting!
Oh, I'm doing the head
because this project was my idea,
and it was decided by everyone that the head was mine!

Now on to some abstract art!
Bea at Dog in the Hole Studio
has given us our second step
in the process.
But before that....
While I was waiting on the second step,
I decided to add more color
and some texture to the 2 colors
I had chosen.
I added some tissue paper,
sort of like I do when I make fabric paper.
Now, here is my completed step 1.....

 
Step 2...
was to use squares and rectangles
from the 3rd split complimentary color
and add them on the horizon line
and an angled line that crossed over the horizon.
So, here is my completed step 2...
I have no clue how far this thing is going
or what the next step is.
If you want to try some of
Bea's challenges,
go see her here.
She is celebrating her 800th post too BTW.

I'm getting nearer my one year blogoversary date
and also my 300th post,
so I am still thinking
 of what to do to celebrate.
I will be announcing something soon!

Something new I'm trying----
I used to work with watercolors a bit.
Now I'm trying to learn to use watercolor pencils.
I found some loose hymnal pages
at the thrift store,
in a baggy for 10 cents.
I thought maybe I could paint
on them.
A neighbor said,
"If you can paint Mary and baby Jesus
on one of those hymnal pages,
I will buy one."
So, I gave it a try
and she just bought it.
Here it is.....

I mounted it on watercolor paper
to make it stronger.
I suggested framing it
with burlap or something rustic
as the mat, with a black frame.
I'm glad she loved it,
and glad she gave me the idea to do it.
I think I will try this again.
So, don't be afraid to try something new...

Savor the Day!
Yvonne

Earth Day

 Happy Earth Day everyone!
The earth is us....we are the earth!
"Treat the Earth well...

it was not given to you by your parents,
it was loaned to you by your children.

We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors,

we borrow it from our children."
ancient Indian proverb
These pictures were taken on one of my vacations to
New England.
On my travels,
I am always reminded just how beautiful
the Earth really is....
and how fragile it can be also.
Earth Day has been around for 40 years,
and there is still so much more to do.
Don't take your Earth for granted.
Every day should be Earth day.
Please visit your EPA website.
There you can find out
how you can easily take action.
Teach the children just how important
it is to protect the environment.
It takes all of us!

Savor this Earth Day!
Yvonne

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Blogging for One Year

Pretty flowers at the botanical gardens!
In a few days I will be at a milestone.
I started this blog almost one year ago
and have almost 300 posts.

 I have met many online friends,
and have greatly enjoyed seeing
photos, 
entering challenges,
learning from you,
 and just reading
all of your interesting posts.
I feel like I've really gotten to know
some of you.
Tulip time!
 I will be thinking of what I will do
to celebrate my one year anniversary
here at Inkspillers Attic.
In the meantime,
I want to share with you
some of  my favorite flowers at
the Grapevine Botanical Gardens.
My koi fish header photo was taken there also.

Some pretty faces!
Snowballs in Spring!
A beautiful climbing yellow rose.
Food for the  wildlife????
A happy couple!
(Heart made by hands of
 my daughter Amy and her fiance Jim.)

 Stay tuned to find out more about my
anniversary happenings
in my next post!

And don't forget to...
Savor the Day!
Yvonne


Convictions of an Artist, and Wall Art

 "The artist does not draw what he sees,
but what he must make others see."---Degas

I wanted to share with you
some simple yet elegant free hand 
wall  art I have seen.
These are not stencils!
Hope they inspire you!
This first one is a very large wall
that has been painted to look old
and then the very large design added.

7 elements of art...
shape, size, line, direction, texture, value and color

The next 2 photos show wall art
on a staircase wall.
I think it looks very elegant.


Convictions of an Artist

  1. motivation precedes action...create possibilities

  2. art is deliberately designed

  3. art interprets experience

  4. art is a creative action

  5. the artist must respond to fresh impressions...marvel

  6. the job is to communicate life

  7. the fun is the activity itself

  8. the quest for beauty requires craftsmanship

  9. the artist lives by wits

  10. don't wait to be noticed

  11. a work of art is a symbol

  12. each artist is self taught

Savor the Day!
Yvonne