Let's start the week with a treat...

I've discovered that you can make graham crackers from scratch. Did y'all know that? And, if you did, why hadn't you told me?

I was reading through a blog the other day and ran across the "perfect" graham cracker recipe. I was shocked... first that you can make them at home, and then for being so silly as to not realize that you could. Of course, I started searching out recipes. There are tons of them out there. Finally, I just went back to the perfect graham cracker recipe since it was the first I'd seen.

Are they good? Oh my goodness, yes. They are very good. I've made a couple of batches since then, and tweaked the recipe a bit to suit my taste even more. Since they really are just that good, and relatively low in calories, I thought I'd share with you guys... ready?

You need (this is my tweaked version, you can go to Haniela's to find the original):

1 and 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup self rising flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
6 tablespoons of cold butter (no substitute)

Use a pastry blender, or food processor, to cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it is well worked in and crumbly. At this point, heat your oven to 350 degrees.




1/4 cup of honey
2 tablespoons of milk
1 tablespoon of orange juice concentrate
2 teaspoons of bourbon (or, you can substitute vanilla, but the bourbon brings out the honey particularly well)

Dump all of the liquid ingredients into the dry and incorporate until you have a lovely ball of dough.









Refrigerate the dough. Just enough to chill it. I find it is easier to roll out when it isn't rock hard.
















Roll it out between pieces of waxed paper until it is very thin... about 1/8th of an inch.







Cut it into whatever shape or shapes you want, mine are 1 1/4" circles, and pop the cookies into a 350 degree oven for about 10 to 15 minutes. You want them to be golden brown (even a bit browner and they are still very good... trust me on that one).

Let them cool completely and then store them in an air tight container. You can do anything with these that you would do with the store bought graham crackers... my favorite thing is to eat them, just as they are... mine have a hint of orange and cinnamon that are very clear, and the bourbon really accentuates the honey perfectly... enjoy.

Next up... backgrounds and depth of color (because Eileen wants to know how I do it) in our little creative journal journey...

ArtsyBlogger links...

Here they are everyone... the ArtsyBlogger links for this week... (and I apologize, my home connection never seems to connect to Cherie's page... I'll post a pic from her post on Monday... arghhhhh Insight!!!)

Beading Arts

Interested in publishing this year? How about starting out with a magazine?

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
You can transform plain glassware into unique home decor. Check out Eileen's first attempt with transparent glass paints

Glass Mushrooms
Cherie makes glass mushrooms for the garden out of dessert bowls

Awwwww....

My Little One says to me the other day, "I got you something, and it's going to be here today." Then she warned me not to open any package.

She's like that. She likes to collect reactions.

So, when the child, who is now a young woman, gets home, she opens the package. Seems she's ordered herself a few items as well... but then she hands me a little silver box...

And in that little silver box was this...

Isn't it lovely?

Quite lovely actually. Don't you think?

Kate, aka "My Little One", loves this artist. Her name is Char, and she has a little shop over on Etsy called Indigo Silver Studio. I joke with Kate often that she's paid paid a substantial part of a mortgage for her... but Char's work is lovely. It's not just pretty, it's very well made. The stones are pretty and they're set beautifully, whether they are in a ring, a necklace or earrings. (And trust me, I've seen her rings, necklaces and earrings... and lots of them.)

I didn't make the purchase, so I can't leave feedback for Char, but I love the ring. Even more since my daughter had her make it for me. So thank you Char, for conspiring with my Little One...

... and thank you my Little One for being such a sweetheart. And congrats on being inducted into the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (you make your Momma proud)!

(To be clear, I've received no compensation from Char or Indigo Silver Studio for writing positive things about her work. As a matter of fact, she doesn't even know that I'm writing this...)

ArtsyBlogger links...

Let's see if everyone has gotten more accomplished than I have this week... here are the ArtsyBlogger links...

Getting Mixed Media Supplies From a Library Sale
Cherie hit up the library sale this week and got some cool books to craft with.

(I'm jealous!)

Eileen - The Artful Crafter

Take a look at this awesome mixed media earring organizer.

Beading Arts

Cyndi has been trying to encourage everyone to get out there and take a class this year!

In my little world...

"Tomorrow" is a somewhat subjective term, used loosely on the blog sometime to mean the near future... Technically, this isn't "tomorrow" to the last blog post...but I've got the beginnings of a page for ya...

I've got a 9" x 12" sheet of 90 pound cold pressed watercolour paper, some gesso, black and white acrylic paint, my trusted Formica chip, a 1" wide brush, and a glass of good merlot ( a very important component to this particular journal).

Over the last few weeks I've been listening to a song that was recorded by Sting on his Sacred Love disk. "Book of My Life" has got to be one of my all time favorite songs, it's thoughtful and introspective... and inspiring, at least to me...

Listening to the song inspires me to write my own book of my days, and I want to add a page to this journal to honor that inspiration. When I listen to the song I see a person sitting near a fire that is dying, and from the "ethers" visions of a life visit... so, to begin I need to create those ethers...

I began by smearing a somewhat thick coat of gesso in the center of the watercolour paper, drawing it from the center toward the edges. It's rather random, definitely not solid... my theory is that it's just going to be used more as a "float" for the other colors. (Edit: Work with the other colors while the gesso is wet.)

With that on the paper, I add a line of black acrylic paint near one long side, and a line of white near the other side.







Using my handy Formica chip, I begin dragging the paints around the paper.












And I continued adding black and white until I was satisfied with the overall effect. Notice that I darkened it a great deal at one of the longer edges. This is where my "land" will be.







It needs color... even if I want to show shadow, I must have color! And I want a storm-ish sort of feeling to it (no doubt influenced by the delicious peals of thunder I woke to yesterday)... so I blend that aqua into the background with a brush. I'm just using a random brush/push sort of motion to do this.








And then, I add more white and more black, blending them all together in a rough sort of way. Basically pushing the colors with short, sharp brush strokes.

Standing back to look at it... this is really working for me.






I want to sharpen the "land" area, so I use my brush and a bit more black paint to create a bit of definition to the top of the land area. Standing back to look at it again I think... "wow, that's exactly what I had in my head..." . A feat, trust me, as most of the time I don't start with a plan. And when I do, it rarely looks like that plan.





Now, to add a figure... a very, very vague figure and a glow from a dying fire. That didn't turn out quite as I wanted it to, but I've learned to walk away from something if I am not totally satisfied with it, and come back later. Very often some kind of magic happened and I like it after all.

So now, it's sitting and drying, and working magic. I'll be adding words once that's all finished.


I've started a Flickr set that will hold all the photos for this journal journey... along with more photos that don't make it to the blog... check it out here.

And so we begin...

Today begins our art/visual/creative journal journey. Before we really get into this I need to make a few statements to help set the tone and outline some goals.

I create journals all the time. Have bunches of them around here, but this one is going to be different. This one will actually contain more than just pretty backgrounds. This journal is going to include entries (gasp!). And I will be opening these entries up for everyone to read. Now, granted, there probably won't be any shocking revelations, my life is pretty boring, but they (the entries) will be there... so go easy on them.

While you are invited to share this journey with me, by either creating your own journal or just satisfying your voyeuristic tendencies by visiting mine, the real goal of this project is to encourage you to create. Doesn't matter what you create, just create.

And remember, being creative doesn't just apply to making stuff, it applies to life... As my Grandmother used to say, "the devil is often in the details". And, while she often said that with negative intention, while she was complaining about some rounded applique seam she was adding to a quilt, there is another perspective that can be used with a more encouraging intent. Sometimes it really is the small bits of creativity we add to our lives that can bring about a more "satisfied" sense of "being".

I have a fascination of sorts, about human beings and what makes us... "us". One of our most unique qualities we have is our ability to artistically create with purpose. There is a great deal of debate about whether or not we have a "need" to create, or if we all of us have the "ability" to be creative. Personally, I think we all desire to express ourselves in some creative way. Me... I have no choice, trying to live without creating would be akin to trying to live without breathing. It's a balm to my soul. I'm sure it sounds silly to some, but it's a spark that my Creator put into my very being, it is a part of who I am. So to me that debate about whether we are or are not creative makes no sense, I just cannot see the other side of that argument no matter how hard I try.

Now, as I have said, this is going to be a long running tutorial. It will be punctuated by other things because I tend to be come bored when working on one thing for very long. I will be adding a page to the blog that will carry all of the posts, in the order they are posted, for easy reference. Please take a second to consider... while I hope this will be a very detailed and helpful experience, don't believe you have to make yours (if you do make one) just like I do. What you should do is check it out, see how I do it, take it, tweak it, and make it all yours. While it may be said that imitation is a most sincere form of flattery, all it really is is taking claim to something that you really had no hand in. Use the techniques to create your own, something that is exclusively and wonderfully yours. And remember, ALWAYS honor the copyright of others.

So, here we go...

I'm starting with the supply list. The list is long, and not everything will be used, and things will be added as we go... I just don't want to miss something along the way. As I give you this list of supplies, you will find a definite lack of brand names (even though sometimes you will see brands in the photos), and even specific color names. That isn't to keep you from creating with what I use, that is to encourage you to use what you prefer.

2012 Creative.visual.art journal supplies:

"junk"... junk mail, flyers, wrapping papers, news papers, catalogs, etc.
*Don't look at them as a "whole" object to use... consider words, numbers, etc.

Old book pages
*I love old book pages (bet you guys hadn't caught on to that yet huh?), the more worn the better. Pick pages that have a great "feel", whatever that is to you. You'll know when you've found the right ones for you.

Cardboard
*Think along the lines of cereal boxes and things like that. (This is one of the most likely not to be used... I'm not sure how I feel about it yet.)

Watercolour paper
*I'll be using weights between 90 and 140 pounds, all are cold pressed.

Scraps of cloth
*Whatever you like, I'm thinking muslin may find a place in mine.

Images
*Ah... images. What would an art journal be without them? This is often where folks lose sight of that whole copyright thing. Use images that appeal to you. If you use photos you have taken I highly recommend that you make copies of them to use. If you use images you find online... I really recommend that you search for those in the public domain (that means they are copyright free). Two very good resources that come to mind are Graphics Fairy and Wikimedia Commons.

And here's the really fun stuff...

"Stuff"
*Paints... acrylic, watercolour, gouche, milk.
Pastels
*soft and oil based
Colored pencils
Watercolour pencils
Pens
*I use only permanent pens when possible... although, in this one I may use some white gel pens.

Other stuff:
*glues, gel mediums, Mod Podge, hole punches, scissors, pokey stick tool (aka the every so useful bamboo skewer), erasers (to carve small stamps into), rubber stamps, soda bottle lids, bubble wrap, brayer, mesh or netting, any other thing you can think of that can leave an imprint.

Possible add ins:

Beads, wire, buttons, charms, found objects, polymer clay items, paper clips, staples, thread (probably will be sewing on several of the pages), pretty much anything is game in this category

AND... (and this is the tricky part)... ideas.

Also, if you'd like, you can buy a plain journal (or cheap composition book) to use as your "base". I am not good at coloring in the lines, so I definitely am not good at composing in the pages, so I will be building mine from scratch. I don't plan on making it more than probably 20 pages long (that gives me 40 total pages to work with when you consider front and back), although, who knows how big or small it will end up? My pages will not all be the same size. While that may drive some folks crazy, that sort of wonkiness is good for me. You do what is good for you.

Now, to facilitate always having these things in one place, since I am the queen of having crap everywhere, I am also putting my stuff in a bin to keep it all in one place. Whether or not that is necessary is completely up to you and how well organized you are. Organization just doesn't happen to be one of my strengths.

So... tomorrow... starting a page...

ArtsyBlogger links...

OMGoodness... it is COLD around here today! Fifteen degrees. It was almost 60 degrees just a couple of days ago... sigh...

It is a perfect weekend to stay in and work on that new project I'll be sharing with you starting Monday, I think the Universe often conspires to set up situations that actually work for me more than I realize. While I am gathering and getting started on everything, you guys go check out the ArtsyBlogger links this week...

(Is this not just stunning?!?!?)
Beading Arts
Do you struggle to add Swarovski rivolis to your bead embroidery? Cyndi has the solution for you in her brand new e-booklet, "Three Bezels Plus a Bonus"!

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Eileen's happy to be back in her niche. Have you found yours yet?

My server and Cherie's server are having issues chatting with each other this morning, so I'll add a pic as soon as I can get there... but, until then, here's her link!

Keep an Eye Out for Someone Special
Cherie makes a picture with a Chinese fortune.

Mo(o)re Whimsies
Amazing Mold Putty and a Victorian Picture Frame

So, here's what we're gonna do...

I am inviting you to join me make this journal. This will be a long running tutorial, an online class basically, that is free and open to anyone who reads the blog. While it will be simple to do, the instructions will be in depth.

During this long running tutorial I'll walk you through creating a journal as I make one myself. My goal is to have plenty of photos of each and every step all along the way so that you can feel empowered to make your own, especially if you have never tried to make one. I promise, it's easy. Really.




And it's an awful lot of fun. Really.

Since I am really sort of up to my backside in alligators (so to speak) at the office the rest of this week... and the swamp just is not draining fast enough, so the 'gators are gaining... I'm going to begin this on Monday when I'll be posting a long list of items that I'll be using. I'm not planning on going out and buying anything for this, and you shouldn't either. While the list will seem very long, it's really just me trying to be very thorough, and will show anything that I MIGHT use. Or, I might not. I won't know until I begin. The list is very flexible, use what you have.





My goals for this adventure are simple. I want to share with you what I do, and I want you to come away from the journey feeling as though you can accomplish this as well.

It's important to note here, I really haven't any amazing drawing skills, although I do a pretty good doodle. I don't have extensive art training... although I did take a few classes back in high school (we shall NOT even consider how long ago that was).

In other words, I'm a whole lot like the normal sort of folk out there, with a shade of (mostly good) crazy tossed in for good measure, but no professional art training. I adore color, shockingly bright and beautiful color... I like making big, fun, colorful messes... and I don't color inside the lines, heck, sometimes I don't even use lines.



So... if you want to play along, feel free. We don't have any fees to deal with, there are no rigid class times... actually, there's really only one rule... YOU MUST HAVE FUN!

Yup, that's all I ask.

You can play along with me while I do this over the next few months, or you can bookmark it and come back to it. As the journey progresses I will be adding a new page to the blog where all of this can be accessed without having to search through the posts. Feel free to tell anyone and everyone you think might be interested, but do NOT re-post the lessons on your blog. You may use one or two photos as long as you link back to the page you found them on, and share a link to my blog.

So... see you guys on Monday... get ready to play!

So... this time of the year...

I have about a bizillion envelopes in my office, no joke. It's a seemingly endless supply of them. Some have great postmarks, others have amazing stamps, and some are just made out if very interesting paper.

So, what happens with all of these? Usually, they are tossed into the recycling bin.

What's going to happen to at least some of these this year? An art journal. Yup... starting this weekend, these guys are going to be recycled into something colorful, creative and wonderful. And I am inviting you to come be a part of the journey and make your own.

Here's what you need to do... gather stuff. Don't make judgments about whether or not it would be "good" to use, just believe it is. Gather envelopes, junk mail, newspaper pages, etc., and come play with me next week. I'll be walking you through the process of turning junk into beauty. I'll be starting the process this weekend, and the first post will show up on Monday. That gives you plenty of time to gather ye goods.

Watch'a waitin' for?

ArtsyBlogger links...

Speaking of great resources... these ladies share great projects all the time! Go check out the links for this week...

Beading Arts
Have you heard about Take a Stitch Tuesday?

Eileen - The Artful Crafter
Here's how to make a lovely flowered bolster pillow to dress up a room.

Cupcake Plate Stand
Cherie makes a stand for cupcakes out of vintage plates.

I wonder if...

Everyone knows about this amazing resource...

Interweave Press, the folks who produce Cloth Paper Scissors, Studios, Fiber Arts and the new edition (among a few new editions) Pages, has an amazing array of free... yes FREE... books and videos available for you.

Check out the free e-books here, and online projects and patterns here. There's really something for everyone... go check them out. Trust me, you'll thank me later...

(I received no compensation for sharing this with you... it's just an amazing resource!)

Hey everyone...

My blogging buddy Cyndi, from Mixed Media Artist, is hosting a give-away! Yup... a bunch of them actually, featuring books from Lark Publishing.

The first is "Handmade Dolls", and even though I want this one, being the nice person I am, I thought I'd let you guys in on it too!

It's all about perspective...

This is my perspective for the day. I have a "bug"... ugh. I got up, started getting ready for work and thought... "Ya know, I don't think I feel well."

I argued with myself for a bit, but the, "Oh yeah, I do not feel good..." won.

But look, isn't the blankie Kellye gave me for Christmas (to remember our year of cupcake duty) nice?

I'm going back to sleep...

Time for you guys to weigh in...

Yeah... not that weigh in... but to weigh-in as to add your opinion...

You guys know I am all over the place as far as art and crafting goes. I'm not sure that I'll ever have a particular niche. And, with that in mind, I'm curious, what would you guys like to see here over the next few months?

Journaling? Crafts? Art? Doodling? Art dolls? Something I haven't tried before? More tutorials, less tutorials? What sort of stuff would you guys like to see?

Come on...weigh in on this one... it's a whole lot easier than looking at a scale right now!

One more thing... about those balls...

Last day of my holiday break... work begins again tomorrow, so I have all of that catching up to get done that I haven't gotten done. But, I wanted to mention something about these spikey balls...

I've done mine in old book pages, but y'all know what a fan I am of old book pages. For me, they are something magical... so I use them in lots of things. But, believe it or not, there are some people out there who cannot stand the thought of using an old book for something else, no matter what condition it is in.


And, that is ok... you can do the same process using any sort of paper. Just think, all of those useless junk mail fliers... wrapping paper... construction paper... it's all worth a try. Keep in mind, the thicker the paper the harder it is to get the really pointy point, even copy paper can be a bit more blunt than thinner paper... but don't let that stop you. I don't know about y'all, but there are a few bright, colorful, glossy magazines laying around here that are calling to me...

Wow... a new year...

I was wondering what in the world I would share with everyone to start the new year off right, and then I opened my email. Y'all seem to really like my spikey balls... at least judging by the number of emails asking how I made them and requesting a tute. Honestly, I didn't share these earlier because I thought everyone knew how to make them. I remember doing them with my grandmother when I was little, so they're not something new. I was wrong... who knew? Always one who likes to give my readers what you want, seems the perfect thing to share to begin this new year. So here we go... the first tutorial of 2012...

You know I use some really technical tools to create what I do, so let's hope you all have them... ready? You need:

Something round, about the size of what you want your finished ball to be. I used a blank cd (actually the spacer you get when you buy a mega bunch of cds). I have also used jar lids, the tops of cans, small plates, and even, from time to time, a drafting compass, although very infrequently. A sheet of white copy paper to draw the pattern on, a pencil, scissors, old book pages, and glue. You will also need some heavy thread, I used perle cotton, a needle, two sequins or tiny plastic washers (use a hole punch to punch them out of a plastic lid, and make a hole in the center) and two beads slightly larger than the hole in the sequin or washer. And, of course, my favorite handy-dandy-all-around-tool... the bamboo skewer.

First, you make the pattern. Using your circle, draw around it onto the white paper. I also drew inside the circle at the center of the cd just to give myself a reference point for later.

Cut out the circle. You need to fold it so that you have 8 equal sections. That means you fold it in half, then fold that semi circle in half. Open it, and do it all over again so that you have eight folds. I marked the lines with a pencil, and then marked each line 1/2" out from the center fold. When I'm cutting the book pages later I won't go any farther down than that mark, leaving a solid center. You've now got your cutting pattern.

Stack a few of the book pages and use whatever you made your original circle with to make a circle on the pages.

You can either cut them out now, or you can use your pattern to draw your cutting lines, then cut out the circle and the lines.

And, ta-da, there you have it... the beginning of the spikey balls.... Now, let me reassure you at this point, if your circle wasn't cut out perfectly... you're doomed. But... not really. The circles do not have to be PERFECTLY round. And, the cutting into the circles doesn't have to be perfectly even, just close. One thing I would caution about, if you stack too many of the pages, when you cut, especially the straight cuts from the outside of the circle toward the inside, you may well get very unevenly spaced sections. Trust me on that one... been there, done that. Should that happen, you have to toss that bunch and make new ones. Otherwise, you know I always encourage you to embrace the minor imperfections... it will all work out just fine.

Here comes the time consuming part. Grab your circles (you need about 17 for each ball you want to create), your bamboo skewer, and the glue, settle yourself in and turn on something entertaining on TV. Position your skewer so that the tip is almost in the center of one of the sections of paper.

Wrap the paper around the skewer to create a cone shape. The sharper the point the better, and glue. Be sure to hold the paper for a few seconds so that you know it has adhered, trying to re-glue them later is not fun. Learning to make that really sharp point takes a bit of practice, probably took me making four or five balls before I became pretty consistent, so don't get discouraged, just keep going.

When you have all of your points rolled, use the sharp end of your skewer to put a hole in the center of your piece. Once you have them all ready, it's time to string them.

Completely ignoring the glue on my fingers, thread your needle with what you have chosen to use as thread. I used a neutral colored (832) perle cotton. Insert your needle into the bead, then through the sequin or washer.

String seven of the stars, all with their "open" centers facing the same direction. Then string the remaining eight stars with their open centers facing the other direction. Be sure to not let everything fall off of your thread. It happens... and if it does, just restring... won't take that happening many times to make sure that it doesn't again.

When you have all the stars on, load the sequin or washer, then the bead... then take your thread back down through the sequin/washer.

Run your threaded needle all the way back through the stars and come out where you originally.

Bring your needle up through the sequin/washer and through the bead (along side the thread that is already there).

Position a knot, and gently, but firmly, tighten it. Be sure to double or triple tie it... making sure to not get any of the points caught in it...

And there you go... a spikey ball. Simple, huh? If you want to get really fancy, as we did when making them for our tree when I was little, you can put glitter on them... just do it after you roll the tips and before you thread them... and be sure to let them dry completely before you string them.

Personally, I love the simplicity of them, all stacked in and around a container on the table.