Microfilm!

I'm smack in the middle of a Kits class (taught by May Flaum) over at BPS to learn some new tricks about using up the last vestiges of my scrapbooking kits. She's got some great suggestions, tutorials, & challenges to get you moving. But she also encouraged us to build our own kits. I've never done this before, and *loved* focusing on using up some great supplies and favorite items that haven't yet made their way into a project. And then I came across a spool of mircofilm while hunting for some black lace...and voila.

Re-purposing

I'm playing along with Ali Edwards and her December Daily project. I've yet to upload my photos into the Flickr group, but I was really excited to build this book! I took an old Dunn Edwards paint chip binder, gessoed it, covered it with light-weight kraft, and filled it with a page for everyday in December. A book-maker's take on an Advent calendar, and completely inspired by Ali Edwards. I'll share pages along the way. In the meantime, Happy Thanksgiving! I'm making that crazy, vivid frozen cranberry sauce with horseradish.

a Greeting, and a Very Good Read

Happy Mother's Day! With much help from my sister, I made the Fifty Things We Love book for our Mom. The hardest part was editing out all her spectacular recipes, and the laughs we'd shared!

I just closed the back cover on the latest Geraldine Brooks novel based on a true lost book. This is an amazing story of respect--for all faiths, for art, for families. Just thought I'd make note. What are you reading?

pink prams & growth charts

Yes, it's true. I haven't blogged in months. My excuse, however, is in the form of an enormous graduation book (see the "growing tall" page). You'd think the child was graduating from high school or something. Nope. Nursery School. And he didn't even make very much art...

I'm tickled pink to share a write-up about my silhouettes! The taste-makers at droolicious (and my savvy friend Sunny) gave me a nod on their blog. Go visit; this group knows how to shop!

Also, I've been drawing prams! We welcomed a new baby girl into our circle, and I made a pram-themed announcement for her and her family. What a treat to make something girly & pink. Happy May Day!

scissor-hands

Well, there's no good excuse for not posting except it's all production around here. I feel like Edward Scissorhands lately since I've undertaken 60 little silhouette portraits for our nursery school auction. My good friend Dana tells me that I need to keep track of process, and her comment made me look at the whole silhouette avalanche with clear-er vision. It started with patterned paper on patterned paper with stitching, and a variety of frames. Then I made a silhouette portrait for my fun wedding clients, and used classic black. Oh wow. Much better. So I ditched about a dozen portraits and re-made in black. Now I'm a crazy lady running all over the city rescuing 5X7 frames from Goodwill etc. Good to be back in blogland.

100 things {big & small}

I got this from Sara, who got it from Lucrecer, who got it from someone else's blog...you know how it goes...now it is your turn! Leave a comment if you post a list on your own blog.

Bold the things that you have done:

1. Started your own blog 2. Slept under the stars 3. Played in a band 4. Visited Hawaii 5. Watched a meteor shower 6. Given more than you can afford to charity 7. Been to Disneyland 8. Climbed a mountain 9. Held a praying mantis 10. Sang a solo 11. Bungee jumped 12. Visited Paris 13. Watched a lightning storm at sea 14. Taught yourself an art from scratch 15. Adopted a child 16. Had food poisoning 17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty 18. Grown your own vegetables 19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France 20. Slept on an overnight train 21. Had a pillow fight 22. Hitch hiked 23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill 24. Built a snow fort 25. Held a lamb 26. Gone skinny dipping 27. Run a Marathon 28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice 29. Seen a total eclipse 30. Watched a sunrise or sunset 31. Hit a home run 32. Been on a cruise 33. Seen Niagara Falls in person 34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors 35. Seen an Amish community 36. Taught yourself a new language 37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied 38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person 39. Gone rock climbing 40. Seen Michelangelo's David 41. Sung karaoke 42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt 43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant 44. Visited Africa 45. Walked on a beach by moonlight 46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted 48. Gone deep sea fishing 49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person 50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris 51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling 52. Kissed in the rain 53. Played in the mud 54. Gone to a drive-in theater 55. Been in a movie 56. Visited the Great Wall of China 57. Started a business 58. Taken a martial arts class 59. Visited Russia 60. Served at a soup kitchen 61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies 62. Gone whale watching 63. Got flowers for no reason 64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma 65. Gone sky diving 66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp 67. Bounced a check 68. Flown in a helicopter 69. Saved a favorite childhood toy 70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial 71. Eaten Caviar 72. Pieced a quilt 73. Stood in Times Square 74. Toured the Everglades 75. Been fired from a job 76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London 77. Broken a bone 78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person 80. Published a book 81. Visited the Vatican 82. Bought a brand new car 83. Walked in Jerusalem 84. Had your picture in the newspaper 85. Read the entire Bible 86. Visited the White House 87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating 88. Had chickenpox 89. Saved someone's life 90. Sat on a jury 91. Met someone famous 92. Joined a book club 93. Lost a loved one 94. Had a baby 95. Seen the Alamo in person 96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake 97. Been involved in a law suit 98. Owned a cell phone 99. Been stung by a bee 100. Read an entire book in one day

{here on earth}

{eek! it's been a whole month since I last posted!}

Here's a full-circle story for you: my friend Monica recommended Earth: the biography which opened the startling realization that I completely missed out on anything space-related during my no-television childhood. So I thought I should re-learn some physics. And maybe some astronomy, and then maybe all this astro-physics stuff wouldn't be so inaccessible. Yeah. So, bottom line: I'm a little more informed, but it should go without saying, I'm light-years away from any kind of true understanding. It's comforting, though, to know that I'm not alone in my on-earth, human ignorance. While I was doing all this up-ward gazing, trying to squint through the light pollution to spy Venus, I also concluded that there is a whole world right here at my feet. Places I really want to see that are accessible; I don't need a rocket booster strapped behind me. Even places in my home city. Part of my house. My brain. Enter Ashley's latest class: {Evidence}. Oh, geez, the relief! It was a put-down-the-crazy-space-text-and-make-something-meaningful refresher. I'm happily cruising thought my 12th entry in this journal, and it's only been a week! Wish this class could continue on, but Ms. Wren supplied us with everlasting prompts for when I need to be grounded. Peace.