Beauty is not Perfection

Mood: Sluggish

My first finished piece for the Suziblu Workshop! I'm very happy with the result. I only used beeswax in parts of the piece to avoid another boils situation with the heat gun. (See pic below). I did varnish on top to give a glossy finish. It measures 2 3/4" x 7 1/4". I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it now though.

I'm still not sure how to go about correcting the boils issue. I know it's a screw up and it really bothering me. I was hoping I would get out of Jury Duty today to work on it some but I don't think that's going to happen considering I got picked. I really need to figure out what the secret is not to get picked. I could go commit a felony but I think that's overkill.

A Long Day, Fuzzy Slippers and a Little Griping

Mood: Wired but Exhausted

The stock market dropped almost 800 points today. I'm not sure how that's going to effect things. A lot of people are in a true panic. I figure there is not too much I can do about it so there isn't a point in panicing. I can only wait and see what the outcome will be. They say we aren't in a recession yet but business has slowed down at both my husband's and my job that we are starting to have trouble making ends meet. Right now we are still able to pay the bills but we are having to watch our bank account now to the dollar.

I had to work a twelve hour shift today. I spent the majority of the time waiting around for work to do. I don't mind working long hours when I am constantly busy but it gets old really fast when it doesn't seem there is a legitimate reason. I suppose I shouldn't be complaining since I have a job at the moment. A lot of people aren't that fortunate right now with all the layoffs going on within the industry. We are all starting to get on edge at work.

On a lighter note, I finally got my new fuzzy slippers! Only five dollars too! I have been eyeballing them at Wal-Mart for several weeks now. Every time I checked they didn't have my size. I even looked when I was at the Wal-Mart by my office. I knew they made them a size bigger because they had my size in other colors. I would settle for nothing less than the pink ones though. I was starting to think it was some sort of a conspiracy.

I finally, finally got my Queen of Hearts swap packaged up and ready to go. I was only lacking weighing and sealing but it has already been a week since the due date. We get two full weeks to send them but I do not like waiting until the last minute to send things out. I makes me feel like a total slacker. I feel like a little weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Ninja Cat

This had Cory and me laughing outright today and I just had to share. It's by Bullehnl on YouTube. You have to give it about thirty seconds before it starts to get funny. The music is quite loud too so turn down your volume if you are trying to be quite. I'm not sure if this is his cat or if it belongs to someone else but the cat is just too adorable!

I'm so proud I figured out how to embed a YouTube video! Of course I had to Google it in order to figure it out but you have to learn somehow right? Sometimes I'm so computer illiterate it's scary.

Golden Surprise WIP

Mood: Peaceful

This is one of the latest pieces I'm working on for the Suziblu Workshop. I'm doing my own thing for the workshop instead of just doing the Petite Dolls. I will probably do a few more of the Petite Dolls but I want to be able to get the techniques going with my own style. I'm really happy with the the way she is turning out. She started out waaaay too pink. They always start out too pink for me. I was able to even her out to my liking though. I need to work on her lips and the outlines tonight.

I'm also working on one of my older pieces too. I'm really excited with how it's turning out. I will have to post pics later. I put glossy accents over their whole eyes instead of just the iris like I have been doing but doing over the whole eye turns out AWESOME!

Blog Layout Changes

Mood: Determined

I'm working on my blog today in case you pop on and it's all wonky. I'm very excited to have a three column layout! Yes, I know that sounded really nerdy. Bad news is all my widgets are gone so I need to go back through and add all the links and images I had. It warned me I needed to back them up before I installed the template but I have no idea how to back up my widgests. Hopefully it won't take too long to get my blog back together.

Windblown and Angel in Flight

Mood: Tired

I have been working on this piece more this week. It's getting close to being ready for beeswax. I need to tone it down a little bit and add some "bling". It looks really busy to me at the moment.

So this is my newest piece for Suziblu. It's called "Angel in Flight" or Maybe the Angel with the Guilded Wings" I haven't decided yet! I'm really please with how her face came out. I still need to work on the hair and eyes but I'm happy over all with the shading.

Shading Practice

Mood: Restless

So yeah, I decided I pretty much suck at shading with paint. This piece is how I plan to start correcting it. Better known as - PRACTICE! I have a few I plan to start working on that will be nothing but faces. I still need to work on this piece a bit but I am happy with the skin itself for now.

I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to do with all the stuff I've created from the Suziblu workshop. I have seen a lot of people selling it on eBay and Esty but number one I worry the art/craft world is going to be over saturated with it and two I kind of feel it's ripping Suzi off a bit. Not necessarily this piece in particular but the pieces I've created where you can outright tell they were created during her workshop.

Happy in Autumn WIP

Mood: Mellow

So I've been doing a little work on my "Happy in Autumn" piece. I colored her hair a bit, outlined her in black and started working on her clothes and the background. I'm still really happy with how this is coming out. I plan to work on her more this weekend.

Memory Lane

Mood: Perky

I got a cool little kick out of a loan we had today. It's RARE we ever look at the appraisals unless there is a problem of some sort but I recognized the street name so I wanted to look and see if I recognized the house. Low and behold I did! Not only did I recognize the house I recognized almost ALL of the comparables! The houses shown in the pictures were those I walked by daily when walking the dogs in my neighborhood in high school. I really took a trip through memory lane and it made my afternoon. To top it all off one of the houses chosen was my friend Ashley's from down the way. How random is that!

I haven't seen that girl since a couple years out of high school. It made me wonder what she is up to. I may google her and see if anything pops up. I went through a very tough period the end of my high school years and the next couple of years there after. I lost touch with her during that time. I regret it now...She was a good friend.

Cool Post on Flickr

I read this post on flickr by Traci Bunkers and was literally laughing outright. I brightened my day and I had to share...

What the Cat Brought in...

"My cat is a hunter. He catches birds, rabbits, snakes, grasshoppers and frogs and brings them to me as a gift. Many times they are still alive when he brings them through the pet door. This time, it was already battered and deep fried.

Awhile back, he brought me a waffle bigger than his head. . . .He has brought me waffles twice.

I guess he doesn't understand that I am a vegetarian and don't want to eat (someone else's) chicken."

Photo by Traci Bunkers

Art Journals and Work

Mood: Concerned

I did this guy today at work while waiting for some work to do. Isn't he deliciously hideous? I started absentmindedly sketching him on Sunday while I was watching the movie Ella Enchanted. *If you haven't seen that movie I highly recommend it. No matter how many times I see it I walk away feeling warm and light hearted.* Anyway, he's suppose to be this little goblin guy trying to give out apples for Halloween but no one will come take any from him. I don't know that I will work any more on this page. I like it unfinished.

I'm starting to worry about work. The fact that I was able to color in a journal page today is bad. REALLY bad. I'm not necessarily worried about my job with my employer but if our clients go under I won't have a job anymore. There isn't enough work to absorb me at home office. I'm trying not to worry about it. I truly am. It's just hard not to when you are the main source of income for the household. We held off on the baby making for this reason but I didn't have much of a choice in getting a new car. I have to able to get to work. I'm trying not to think about it.

Red Balloon WIP

Mood: Pleased

I'm happy with how this one turned out. It was my very first woodburned piece for the Suziblu workshop. All of the earlier stuff looks very much in her style. Looking back I kind of wish I had started varying from the start but I tend to do exactly like I am instructed when I first take a class.

I'm glad I listened to the feedback given from the last time I posted this piece. I thought I was through but everyone suggested I give it a lot more layers before I called it quits. I did as suggested and I am very pleased with the results. It's my first piece where I have done the background completely with transparent layers.

This workshop also introduced me to Stewart Gill Paints. Suzi just raves about them. They have a sample pack on artistcellar.com of all the six different paints offered. I went ahead and ordered it (because there can't be a product I haven't tried) and I really like three of the six paints from it. The other three I'm not too thrilled with but I'm glad I tried it all the same. I will probably go back and order some of the ones I liked - Alchemy, Colorise and Galactica. I want to think about the Galactica first. I found some cheaper paints today at Joann's and I'm going to see if I can get the same effect. It's just glitter paint so I hate to spend a huge amount on it if I don't need to.

Cartwheel WIP

So I'm not so happy with how this turned out but at least you can tell for the most part she is suppose to be doing a summersalt. I should have taken a progress painting in the middle of it. OMG - it looked downright hideous! I had so much stuff going on all at once and it was way too dark. I was able to salvage it for the most part. It's not going to be my favorite piece but it will do. I will put the beexwax on it later tonight.

My New Painting Arrived!

My new painting arrived today. I'm so excited! I bought it from crazyfish_666 on flickr. She normally produces more fairytale artwork like mermaids but I saw this in my contacts section and fell in love! Funny because she mentioned she hasn't painted this way in forever. It arrived really fast and was packaged very thoroughly.

It's my first piece of purchased artwork. I'm VERY pleased with my purchase. It goes great with my accent wall in the living room. It actually got me to thinking how I am going to decorate. I've lived in my house for a year and a half and have absolutely no decorations.

Mood: Joyous

Great news! I sent it to the right person!

Mood: Worried

Did you ever send a really important email and then later go back and freak thinking you sent it to the wrong person? I've been doing that all evening and will have no way of knowing until tomorrow. What if it did go to the wrong person? How embarrassing would that be! I guess I'll find out tomorrow!

I'm so behind on things right now. Since I was out sick two days in a row I didn't do much of anything but sketch in bed and type on the computer. I have a swap that ended last friday. I have them all swapped out to I just have to package everything up and send it out. Ugh - I hate being behind.

Mood: Encouraged

I'm really happy with how this is coming along. I've never really done a larger piece before without being instructed how to do so step by step. I'm using techniques from Suziblu's workshop but when I drew it it came out nothing like the drawing she is teaching us how to do. I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing either. I still need to work a bit on her skin tone but I'm happy with it for the most part. The bottom of the neck needs quite a bit of work. Once I finish the hair I am going to start working on the background layers. I'm not sure at the moment what I am going to do with her clothes.

Mood: Blah

I went home sick from work today. It kind of ticked me off because Cherie acted like it was some personal attack at her. I mean, WTF, I can count on one hand how many times I have called in for the last two years. It's not like I just randomly decide I don't feel like working. I developed a migraine early this morning and it forced me to go to the doctor. Come to find out I not only had a migraine but a sinus infection and two ear infections as well. I guess that's a pretty good reason not to feel too good. I got some sample meds for the migraine and need to go pick up the antibiotics later today. Hopefully I will get back to feeling normal soon.

Mood: Crappy

I feel like someone has beat the living crap out of me. I called in sick to work today and I never do that. I have felt this way for a few days now. Usually in the afternoons I have been starting to feel a little better. I didn't sleep well at all last night. I kept having chills and tossing and turning. Cory said I kneed him in the back a couple times and kept him up since three am. My mind is clear and I don't feel bad. I just feel absolutely exhausted. I going to go lay down on the couch for a while. Hopefully I will feel better soon.

Mood: Cheerful

Okay, so you can't see it too well but I am very happy with this sketch. I met with three other chickies today from the Suziblu workshop. It was suppose to be four but someone had to go through her back out. Don't worry Teri, we talked all about you!

I missed out on the real chat today since I had company coming over. I did briefly get to log in as some creep apparently hacked into other peoples accounts and kept posting obscene messages. I swear some people are really pathetic! Anyway, I'm not upset about missing the chat it since I'd rather talk to people in real life about the workshop.

We talked all about shading and technique. I can't wait for the next video to learn more about layering. I can honestly say so far this has been the best online class I have ever signed up for. Suzi is very attentive to her students and tried to go above and beyond to make sure everyone understands what she's teaching. To me, that's a big deal as far as classes go.

I finished my heart cards just in time to swap them out. I have about eight others with the same background I am going to finish up. I'm not sure if I am going to do them in the same style as the first three or not. I will just have to see what I decide whenever it is I decide to finish them.

I have followers now! I didn't know what this little widget was until I saw a notice on my dashbord saying I have followers. A big hellow to my two and only followers Sandy and Mixed Media Martyr.

Mood - Tired/Bored

I just finished this atc for the Queen of Hearts Swap on AFA. I'm really please with how it turned out. I just love drawing on book pages. I am a little upset withmy self for not noticing how the eyes didn't match until I was too far in to be able to do anything about it. It atc consists of a book page, tissue paper, rubber stamps, dye ink, colored pencil, acrylic glaze, watercolor, fibers and gel pens.

I did think it was pretty funny when I noticed the writing on the book apge was about love-hate relationships and business. I rarely notice what's on the pages before I start drawing on them. One of these days I will be drawing over something obscene and not know it.

Eureka!

Woohoo! We have found lawn maintenance gold! Last summer when Cory was doing yard work he found a sprinkler head in the backyard. Earlier this summer he found two more sprinkler heads in our front yard.

Soooo...this evening we decided to find the rest of them. Cory bought some special tool at Home Depot and we started our search. Well, so far we have found five sprinkler heads in the backyard. A few of them are busted and need new heads. They were covered up with all sorts of dirt and grass and junk. The rest work just fine. We just need to find the rest of them.


With it getting dark out we decided to call it quits for the evening. We are so excited! We planned on getting sprinklers next year with out tax return. Now we already have sprinklers (granted they may need a little work) so we can get new carpet with the tax return instead!

Mood: Disheartened

I discovered today just how little I can trust one of my coworkers. I told her something out of sheer stupidity not thinking how quickly it would spread. This is the same person who later stabbed me in the back.

I became suspicious she had passed around something I told her because I knew from two people's expressions they already knew when I told them. It wasn't that I minded everyone knowing but telling people you are planning to start a family is something that needs to come from that specific person. I feel she tried to steal my thunder in order to make herself feel better.

Once I was suspicious I told her a lie for the same reason. Earlier today I had a conversation that confirmed my suspicions. It got passed around all the same.

I know now not to trust her with anything. It's so sad you have to play games in order to protect yourself sometimes. She will burn her bridges. That kind always does.

Mood: Embarrassed

So I had a participant in a swap send me something through UPS. She asked if they had arrived but I hadn't seen them. A few more days go by and she asks again but sadly I still had not seen them. So she gives me the tracking number and it says it was delivered to my doorstep in the middle of the afternoon one day last week. WTF? My UPS guy doesn't come until early evening and there wasn't anything on my doorstep. I get packages there all the time.

I almost ran over some stupid teenagers because they were laying in the middle of the road (yes, literally) and I didn't see them when I was turning on the street. So of course I'm thinking "Crap, I pissed them off and now they've stolen my packages". Also "I wonder if Cory grabbed it and forgot to tell me". Not like him to do something like that but it could happen. Don't forget the ever popular "Damn! What if it blew away?".

I told the participant I would do what I can about it today. I couldn't get a hold of a person when I tried calling UPS so I went to the website and filed a claim. FYI -I don't think you're suppose to do that for residential packages. It kept asking me for the company name.

So I was looking around all outside my house today when I got home and noticed the mat was a little crooked. I went to adjust and low and behold there was the package! OMG!! I am a friggin' moron! I didn't think once to look UNDER THE MAT!

I don't know if I would have found it if the mat hadn't been crooked. My husband and I were walking back and forth through the front door all weekend and neither one of us noticed it. The bump was barely even noticable. Normally UPS and USPS leave packages on the side of the porch so it didn't even dawn on me. I can't believe I did that! I'm so embarrassed!

Mood: Happy

I went to Tuesday Morning to find some napkins for the Fancy Napkin Swap on AFA. I have some napkins but I didn't have enough of the same design so I went to pick up a couple of packages. I think I got both packages for like $1.50 each (yea!). Of course, I can't go to Tuesday Morning and not look around. You don't really know what kind of oddball stuff they will have there. My eyes set on this adorable little Halloween cat and I just melted. He is so dang cute! His little head bobbles and his arms move back and forth. In the gift wrapping section I found this celestial tissue paper that I just had to have! I can't wait to use it in some thing!

Mood: Bored

I'm finished week three's assignment for suziblu's workshop. We were suppose to begin the background and do the dresses. I had to start by finishing up the color on my girls. That was week two's assignment. I still have not finished the eyes but I did put some color in them so they aren't quite as creepy. I used stencils/acrylics and watercolor crayons on the background. I'm waiting until tomorrow's video to do anything more to this.

We did the chat today. It's nice to put faces and personalities to people on the internet. Suzi said she may do another chat on Wednesday or Thursday. I think I may go to Best Buy before then to get a new webcam. My old one is not compatible with Vista! So no webcam chat for me today.

I have another piece I am working to finish up and a new sketch in my head that I want to get onto wood. I think for the new one I am going to try using the birch again. Not only is it bigger but people are saying it's better so I figure I will have another go at it.

I bailed on the Artistic Alchemy class. It wasn't what I expected it to be although it is exactly what the class description said it would be so I have no one to blame. The class in itself is really good, don't get me wrong. Kira does an excellent job explaining the assignments with PDFs and videos. I guess I signed up wanting to learn techniques. That's not what this class is offering. The class is mainly about looking into yourself and expressing it on paper. Which is good for some people, just not me right now.

Mood: Good

I made the cards for NuttyNanner's Tag You're It swap on AFA. I was so worried I wouldn't be able to come up with anything I liked. I'm really happy with how the set turned out. I did all the backgrounds at once on a large collage and then cut it up into atcs. This seems to work best for me when doing collage. Otherwise I would spend two hours on each card. Sad yes, but trust me I've done it before (if not longer).

The card consists of tissue paper, vintage papers, crackle paint, walnut ink, ephemera and gold leafing pen. I need to set the cards under a book for a few days before mailing them. I forgot if you use a liquid glue on thin paper it buckles a bit. Oops!

Mood: Chipper

So my Saturn decided it wanted to start failing on me. I had been noticing it shifting funny for a couple of month's but Cory said it was just the way I drive because he couldn't feel it. Come on now, I've had my car for eight years. It won't just start to develop a memory and start driving funny after eight years.

Thursday before last it started to become very noticeable. Noticeable like it lunged when changing gears between 2k to 3k and 3k to 4k rpm. I didn't tell Cory what was wrong and just told him I thought my car was acting funny. Wow! It's amazing the difference in reaction when I let him find the problem.

"Your car is shifting funny." he said. You think?!?! So they couldn't look it up at the dealership. I guess Saturn has a special tool you need. So...we took it to Saturn and $65 later they tall me some part in my transmission was going out and it would be $1,500 to fix it.

My car is only worth $2700 blue book and that's without the transmission problem. Cory said he thinks my shocks and struts were about to go out and that I would probably need new tires in another 10k miles. All in all we would probably be spending another $2500 on my car just this year. That's not including maintenance and any other little thing that might go wrong with it.

Soooo, we decided to get a new car. I really didn't want to have two car payments but sometimes you do what you have to do. I ended up getting a 2008 Pontiac G6 with 16k miles on it. It was a rental so it was rode pretty hard imagine but it still has the warranty and I'm not exactly easy on cards anyway. It has all the custom features I wanted on it too, sun roof, Ipod jack, steering wheel radio controls. The only thing it doesn't have is tinted windows which is going to change really soon because I'm not driving around in the Texas heat without tint!

I'm really excited with my purchase!!

Mood: Feelin' pretty darn good

So I bit my dentist today. Yeah, my husband got a pretty good laugh out of it too. I'm what you might call a little "high strung". I'm even worse when it comes to going to the dentist. The last few times I've gone in for routine check-ups I've had three cavities each time. Three! I swear I brush my teeth.

My old dentist quit and my new dentist has Nitrous Oxide. Boy that takes the edge off! I've had it this time and the last time I went in for fillings. This time took a lot longer though. Two hours and fifteen minutes. I kept going in and out of it the whole time. Are you suppose to do that with Nitrous? I feel like I'm floating on a cloud, then they give me shots, then the dentist went away and the assistant is texting to someone (grrr). I hear the dentist say, "I've never had so many complications with only three fillings before" and fade back out. Then I hear the dentist say "...and now you're biting my finger. That's okay, you're probably getting back at me." and out again. I guess I was pretty messed up because the receptionist kept asking if I was okay and needed to sit down.

My hands are still a little tingly. It should go away pretty soon.

Mood: Good

I'm still working on week 2 for Suziblu's workshop. This week we were suppose to wood burn girls into the wood and start painting them. I've got two done so far but I want to get more done to have a little practice under my belt. I decided to leave the eyes undone for now since it kind of messed up my first girl. I've only done the watercolor pencils so far. I need to do some more shading and go over it with some paint.

We are suppose to be learning how to dress the girls and a do a little bit of the backgrounds next week.

Mood: Encouraged

Well, here's my first Suziblu doll. I think I will give her a circus theme in the background. Nothing too much, just a couple of things. I did all the shading and coloring like instructed but the black on the eyes smeared and med her up a little bit. I tried to clean her up. I think I did an okay job with it. I need to do a little more with the hair too.

Mood: Antsy

I did another ten minute collage this morning before I checked my email. It really turned out being a fifteen minute collage because I was slow cutting out the lady but close enough. I am fighting myself so hard not to work on it more. It needs a couple more things done to it and the incompleteness is taunting me. I'm not allowing myself to work on it again today. I have to save it for some other day when what it needs just pops out at me. Until then, I can't touch it. Those are my rules. Wheither or not I follow them are another story.

I am almost finished with my paintings for the Altered-Diva workshop. Yesterday was the last day of the class. I went ahead and got as close as I could to being completed on the day scene so I would know what to do to finish up. I still need to complete the night scene but I didn't have time to work on it yesterday. I'll post pictures later.