Craft Day

Last night was a Craft Day with my little circle of crafty friends. I probably should have taken photos of all of us together hovering over Lissa's pregnant belly (I believe it was Carrie who first thought we could hear the ocean if we just put our ear up to it?) but I was content just sitting around drawing on squares of material with fabric markers and enjoying my friends' company. This will later become a handmade quilt for Lissa's & Dan's "it" (gender unknown).

The theme is underwater or aquatic, and though mine is definitely not of my own design, I drew inspiration from a random artist on the net and, of course, Natalie Dee. And the blurred spots are just where I hid my signature.


My favorite part was when Tracie's daughter, Nik, showed up and drew a Mrs. Big Foot with a bikini-square to contribute to this one.

Hand carved erasers

I was compelled to start a new craft last night. You know that creative itch you get that won't go away til scratched? I had it bad...for hand-carved stamps. I started with the intention of making pendants, but the carving part got me hooked. I still have some FIMO (thanks, Tracie, for not letting me call it FEMA) and Sculpey clay to use, so I'll get to it soon. I searched every blog in the known universe for a tutorial and ran across one that helped a lot. Therefore, you gotta check this out if you want step-by-step how-to's. I just wanted to take cute pictures and post them.

You start with an X-Acto blade, soft eraser (Staedtler works the best), and a pencil.

Dust off the brain and think of something you want to stamp onto stationary, gift tags, cards, envelopes, business cards, etc.

Then carve it!

I made a blade of wheat, a cute little acorn, a heart (the love kind, not anatomical though that would be cool...hmmm...), an old door, and then, as seen above, some yarn and a crochet hook. It's fabulously addicting to sit in a cozy chair and whittle away all your little ideas. People that know me know that I'm the weird one. I do not really make conventional crafts, but this seems fairly normal to me.

I think I'm going to go all out and plunk down the ten bucks to get a Speedball Cutter set and maybe even the extra $3 for some linoleum blocks. The X-Acto knife is fine 'n' all, but the gouger in the Speedball Set, I hear, can carve very fine lines that no X-Acto blade will dare. Wouldn't these be awesome for the craft fair in September? I think so.

Chic Rag Rug

I had an old sheet with a massive tear in it. I'm emotionally attached to material things (shhh! don't tell anyone) and I didn't have the heart to just throw this sheet in the garbage. So...instead, my dad and I spent an hour cutting my sheet back and forth into imperfect 1" strips and two hours of work later, this little baby was born.

I think it's about 32" or so. It's so soft and cozy. I tossed in front of my bathroom sink. Now I have another reason to stand over the sink for 20 minutes. And here's the mega up close shot:

Rug Lust

It's been a while, eh? Well, I've been busy. Finals are in two weeks and I have yet to begin my analysis papers and portfolio but the freaker is I haven't even begun to study for the Survey of Art History class. For some reason, those tests are bru-tal. Maybe because I'm a retard at dates. I can't even remember today's date and it's the same all day! (bah-dah-dum!) But alas, when finals are through I will have a slew of drawings and maybe a few in pastel. I haven't really fused any new glass but that's because I am afraid of cutting my finger like I did last time. Oh, and since Mother's Day is around the corner and I have no idea what to do or get for my mom that won't end up in a yard sale the next season, I decided I'd make her a tweed blanket. I'll post a pic when it's done, or maybe when it's halfway done. I also started a camel colored organic cotton market bag, again. People want to buy them from me but they think $150 is overpriced. Sorry, folks, but those bags take about 20+ hours to make and about $20 in yarn. I'll be happy to teach you how to make your own though!

I am obsessed with this rug. I love asymmetry and muted colors (especially with blue). I can't afford to buy an $800 rug, but I could probably whip something out very similar with cotton yarn and a lot of time. Suggestions? Or if you wanna buy it and send it to me because you really want me to have it, I can give you my address. (Yeah, right) I once saw a tutorial on how to make rugs using felt, but I'm clumsy and need something extremely durable...and probably washable. (as my friend, Matt, can attest I spill everything) Maybe I can modify this design into a cotton runner for my bathroom or hallway. I dunno, but it just made the Project List.

Mmm pretties

Here's some relatively shiny and expensive stuff I made. This first one is oragami and resin. It's fun to play with caustic materials. It turns out like a really thick plastic and it reminds me of my dad's paperweight with the scorpion in it except with flowers from when we lived in Albuquerque.
And then the rest are slumped and fused glass that I worked on while Carrie was going glass crazy.
I made about 100 of these to sell and gift. Lately though, all I've been doing is donating them to charities or for causes. Therefore, I think the remaining pendants should be sold at $50 to recoup my cost. ha ha I keed, I keed

My uterus

Here's a link to my uterus I made http://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/happy_uterus_2

This Happy Uterus was featured in Bitch Magazine and on a bunch of forums liking and disliking the little fell'er. Oh, well. I like it and you probably will, too!

Yellow Golf Pencil Trade

Remember the guy with one red paperclip? Another guy named Kyle here in Top City is starting a trade with a golf pencil. He posted on Craigslist his wishes and I thought, "What the hell." He came to my office and picked up some pendants that were destined for him (but originally for the Cider Days Festival). In return, I got a tiny golf pencil that looks brand new. It'll probably sit atop my desk at work until I get desperate and start writing with it. I should save it in case this thing really takes off though.

I traded that
for this

If it works out then I managed to help a man get a home for his family. If it doesn't, then I am out $24 worth of product but still doing something for someone else. Sharing is caring, folks!

nudies vs. KU

Tonight we had a nude model, again. She has a pretty good sense of humor and kept telling me I must like her butt because that's all I will draw. Well, it's hard to draw her front when all I see is her back. It's difficult to show curves (unless its a bone) of a very gangly person. She had minute gestures. These are my figure studies while hyped up on a Diet Pepsi-coffee mix, the caffeine of late night champion artists.

And, again...
And one last time.

I have drawing ADHD. I changed the color of my papers several times. I went from yellow to pink to gray. At least I have variety.

Now onto KU... wow-wee! If I could insert me singing the Rock Chalk chant would I ever! I was a little peeved at Mario Chalmers for constantly falling and napping on the court until he scored the 3-pointer. Long story short, I gots me the KU Fever. Rock Chalk Jayhawk KU!

Happy Uterus

In June, I guess Lissa, Carrie, Tracie and I are going to be in some local art fair. I hope when the park says, "Art...", they mean crafts, because that’s what we’re doing. I guess I can submit some small postcard size pastel drawings to keep us from being boo’d out of there by real artists. Besides, these ladies tend to amaze me with everything they make, so people really should be high-fiving us for bringing something new and refreshing to their little artfest. And leave it to me to bring all the uteri I’ve been making. So far, I have a zombie, construction worker, nurse, and a ninja uterus and, of course, the original uterus that started it all and got me in a magazine: Happy Uterus. It’s crocheted (amigurumi) for those of you furrowing your brows and backing away from your computer right now. They’re quite cute and when you see them, you’ll want one, trust me.

Carrie and I went on a glass fusing and slumping binge for a couple of weeks. We followed up on our carcenogic escapades by attending the Topeka Symphony (which I think I liked more than she did). And then I went out and bought another box of bandaids because I tend to cut myself more than anyone else when gripping my glass.

I swear, one of these days I'm going to post some kind of visual image to help us all along...

my first real blog...oh, my!

Well, I've joined the ranks of intarweb!1! bloggers everywhere. I'm one of you guys now...one that reads, one that writes, and even one that comments frequently. I'm startin' this blog because too many people have them and I strive to be assimilated.

My real purpose is to get my name out there...well, by that I just mean my artwork and my addiction to crafts.

Anything I post on here will be for sale (this is where I pimp my stuff) unless otherwise noted.

Thanks for reading!