Finally! Time to Get My Hands Dirty Again!

Yippee! Finally some time to spend on art after a one-week hiatus. Where to start? It actually took me awhile to get going. Everything I started on looked bad. I just didn't feel like anything was working. So, I took a break and hooked up my new color copier, scanner, printer which had been sitting in the box for two weeks. It was super easy to set up, but my laptop died, then my second battery died, then I discovered my power cord went missing from my suitcase, having been right on top when I left Florida. So I hooked it to our other computer, and being wireless, it will be easy to hook to my laptop when I getting it going again.

With that accomplishment out of the way, I went on to finish my page for the All Originals Fat Book monthly theme swap. As the theme is pink and breast cancer awareness, you can see my contribution. Be sure to visit www.savethetatas.com. I also photographed two of my entries for the ARTchix Pink Post contest. Can't wait to hear the results of the Pet Post contest!

Still on a mini-roll, I assembled nine of my background pages for the Altered Abbey Skinny Book swap. I have 27 finished (obvy) double-sided pages due in less than 3 weeks. So, a lot of pages left to make, and finishing these pages is yet to come. Don't have any idea yet what I am going to do. A lot of the coolest pages I've seen have birds on them, but I'd like to think of something myself. Maybe I'll think of birds!

Finally, these rubber stamps were on my work table, just asking to be photographed. My Stampin' Up monthly club order came, as well as a cute crow in a dress from Invoke Arts. So much to do!

Speckled Egg Hat Swap

This lovely chapeau has now been completed for the Speckled Egg Halloween Witch Hat Swap. A lot of people made paper cones, but I found this satin-like hat for $1 (sorry, recipient Jen). I then added fabric stiffener (didn't even know this existed in a spray bottle- thought I would have to use liquid starch). Once this was done, I attached a large crow, which my cats had tried to abscond with. I also added skulls, bones, black roses, and gold glitter. Through the point I added a removeable silver wand for emergency spell-casting. The wand is embellished with gold glitter and black fun fur. On top of all this is a lovely black veil and orange feather pouf. Now, how to mail, how to mail?

Welcome to Zetti Pre-School

I created this 8 x 10 paper collage on artist board today, using some heads I got in a Zetti swap with ARTchix friend Jade from Michigan. I made this for my Flickr Zetti group. There are nearly 300 members, fans and afficionados of artist Teesha Moore. There are also over 1,000 gorgeous pieces of art to view here http://www.flickr.com/groups/zettiology/ including some of mine.

Some of the bodies are from Lisa's Altered Art on ebay; some of the heads and hair were drawn by me. The wings are from a wall paper border (what a clever idea!) given to me by my CaaT friend Sue Young in Tampa for our Art & Scent swap.

The teachers' instructions are helpful: please leave extra-large wings, wands and heads at home on gym day. Bring nap mats and cupcakes on Tuesday. I did have a rabbit head girl I drew also, but she wouldn't fit. However, I have four Zetti postcards due October 15 for a Swapbot swap, so I am sure she will come in handy.

If you haven't scanned all the way to the bottom of my blog, there is an ever-changing, ever-growing slide show running, courtesy of Ning, the new home of the ZNE Talk art group, and home to a bunch of fabulous artists.

Color and Art and Crows?

Here are my most recent, most colorful and maybe my best yet ATCs. I can say "best" because I am an ATC virgin and have done so few, that whatever comes next could be my best because I never really know what I am doing. I just do "it" and see what happens. I especially like the Twyla Tharp quote I used on one, "Art is the only way to run away from home without actually leaving." Also, love my crow domestic triangle called "Bad Crow Karma," which I made from parts of my "Peaches and Cream" crow collage (below and on ebay). The background is supposed to be crackled and is from my winter watercolor ATC backgrounds. Some of the other backgrounds you see here are also handpainted by me. Love bright colors!!

That Peaches & Cream Complexion

Here is a copy of a recent collage using some of my vintage magazine finds from Better Homes and Gardens and McCalls from the 1930s to 1950s. I see I didn't do the best job copying or scanning, since I cut off a couple of key comments, such as "All they ever wanted to talk about was her crow's feet" and "Are you really lovely to love?" Well, clearly not with all these crow's feet- kind of all over, huh? Collage doesn't have to make any sense- that's why I like it.

I am now going to try my hand at making a glass charm similar to those in my book club book "Pretty Little Things." I had the silver foil tape and now I have my glass squares. This can be done without Flux and a soldering iron, although it won't look as nice. I also now have both a stuffed crow (on a crow kick, non?) and a stuff rat, and either will look divine on my witch hat, which gets mailed off to someone else. Come to think of it, all the good stuff gets mailed off to someone else, hmmmmm.

However, one lovely thing did come to me yesterday, and that was a silver soldered charm by Kris Hubick of Retro Cafe Gallery (see links at right). She did a great job-so smooth and the bail is placed so nicely. I just got a chain for it today as I decided it was too big for my charm bracelet, as I am afraid the others I have ordered from Sally Jean will be. Hard to do dangly when you're on the computer all the time.

I also hope to squeeze in another post tonight about Home and Color for both my ZNE assignment and my Caat assignment. I do take these seriously; I must have been a good little school girl. Were you?