Happenings at the Homestead...

Autumn has arrived in Las Vegas - a welcome relief from the scorching heat of the Mojave blast furnace. We built six keyhole beds in the front yard this summer and stuff is growing in all of them! It always amazes me when anything I plant grows here.  I'm still an Ohio girl, used to throwing seeds on the ground and everything grows. It's taken us years to "grow" our soil so that it supports something besides tumbleweed.

The Morning Room

Yep, the Morning Room is where we begin just about every morning with coffee, books, conversation and whatever we're working on - I'm usually knitting or writing letters and the Husband is always working on his novel.  You can see to the right that the Swiss chard is pretty happy. To the left is the our volunteer squash vine that appeared one day after I transplanted the fennel from the back yard to the front.

The Mystery Melon

We had no idea what it was until the other day when I discovered a melon in the middle of all that vine. Can you see it toward the upper left of the picture? I found another tiny melon this morning.

Our "gated community" - ha!

I finally found something that will grow in the cinder blocks that line our walkway - Vincas. They seem to thrive on heat and neglect. They also get bushy and full of blossoms. What a deal!

Herb Spiral

The basil growing in the herb spiral I built earlier this year has gone crazy. It attracts a lot of bees. I'm thinking that pesto needs to be made soon before it gets too cold and the leaves turn that sad color of brown...

The three biddies: Chi-Chi, Bela, and Viv

I couldn't write a post about the homestead without including a picture of the girls.  They're foraging in their very own garden bed filled with chicken-friendly plants like red clover, rye grass and hairy vetch (?) I have no idea what hairy vetch is, but I love saying it.

Lastly, here's something seasonal:

Little Witch on the Homestead

Until next time...

Gratitude: Top Ten Reasons I'm Thankful I Retired From Teaching

Do you know why this woman is smiling?

The husband commented to me just yesterday that I appear to have been made for retirement. You know what? He's right.  I haven't been this content, productive, happy and calm for years. I know I'm lucky; most people don't have the opportunity to retire at 55. I awake each morning with a grateful heart, knowing that the day is mine, to do with as I choose. Here is my Top Ten List:

10. I no longer have to perform according to anyone's expectations except my own.

9. I swim every day during non-peak hours. That means I don't have to race to the pool before 5 a.m. and fight for a lane.

8. I devote huge amounts of time to turning our property into a homestead, growing as much of our food as I can.

7. I take classes for myself, not to satisfy the Board of Education's licensure requirements. (I just finished a 6-week woodworking class!)

6. I enjoy cooking again.

5. I read more.

4. I have time to work on my art! How wonderful it is to spend entire days in my studio being creative without time constraints.

3. I love on and play with our dogs and cats so much more. That is an investment of time that pays you back with tons of affection and entertainment.

2. I get to hang out with my husband, who also retired this summer.

1. I can use the bathroom whenever I please. (Those of you who have not been teachers can never truly appreciate the luxury of this. Teaching is the only profession where you can't go pee whenever you want.)

To my friends who are still working, my wish is that you arrive here sooner rather than later so you can settle into the joy of being in charge of your own life!

Spooky Silhouettes Tutorial

Spooky Silhouette Halloween card

In honor of my very favorite time of the year, I thought I'd share this easy technique. I used to do this with 4th graders (on a much larger scale) in conjunction with an architecture unit.

First off, you need tissue paper.  Make sure it's the kind used for art - it will say "bleeding" on the package. No, it's not a British expletive, it means that when the paper gets wet, the dye will run. This is important.  If the paper doesn't bleed, the technique won't work.

Bleeding tissue paper (not bloody, although for this time of year that could be nice and gruesome...)

  

The messy art table is optional.

 Once you've got the tissue paper, all you need is card stock (thicker paper is better for this project), an envelope to fit your card, a spray bottle with water in it and black Sharpie markers with different sized tips. I used a chisel tip, fine point and extra fine point.

You don't have to sort your colors; I'm just that kind of bear.

 Tear your tissue paper into smallish pieces. Use whatever colors float your boat. You might want to tear more than you think you'll need because you're going to cover your card and part (or all) of your envelope.

 Turn off the fan and send small bouncing children of the two-legged or furry variety out of the room for a few minutes (trust me). Open up the card and lay it so the outside is face up. Lay out the tissue paper however you like it, overlapping some of the pieces.  You can leave some areas white if you want, or cover the whole thing.

See why you don't want the fan blowing?

 Once all the paper is in position, carefully give it a spritz with the water. Carefully. Don't be like me and squeeze the trigger full force, sending bits of tissue paper flying all over the table. (What a dweeb...) Make sure all the paper is wet, but not soaking.  You don't want rivers. You do want it wet enough so that the ink will transfer to your card.

After I gathered up all the pieces from my water blast...

You can see how the ink is beginning to feather out from the water

Now go make yourself a cup of tea or coffee or pour a glass of wine and let the paper dry. Please don't be impatient like I was and try to make it dry faster with the blow dryer. Remember what I said about spritzing the water carefully? I'll leave it to your imagination...

When the paper is dry, it should easily slide off your card, leaving you with this:

Oooooh...aaaahhhh...pretty!

I did the bottom half of the other side, too. I just didn't take a picture of it.

I did the envelope, too while you were drinking your wine:

(You know all those little bits of tissue paper that just came off your card? Aren't they cool? I think they look like they've been tie-dyed. Don't throw them away! In my next tutorial I'm going to show you something you can do with them so you're getting two art projects for the price of one. Put 'em in an envelope and put them somewhere safe. DON'T be like me and forget where you put them...)


Break's over! Back to the tutorial:

My sketch, done at 4:30 this morning

You need to figure out what kind of silhouette you want on your card. I suggest playing around with some sketches. Remember that silhouettes are black and the interest comes from the outside edges. Leaving spaces between objects will let the background colors shine through and provide visual contrast.

Let your pencil whisper over the paper!

Once you've got your ideas sketched out, transfer them, in pencil lightly to your card.  I used to tell my students that you want to keep your picture a secret from everyone but yourself.




Take your Sharpie in hand and begin to fill in your silhouettes:

 

A word of caution - notice the back of my card:

The bleeding Sharpie!

 That's why I put scrap paper inside my envelope when it came time to draw on it.

Come to think of it, it might not be a bad idea to put that paper inside your envelope when you're doing the tissue paper thing, too if you don't want the colors on the front to show up on the back. Depending on how heavy the paper is that your envelope's made of. Just sayin'...

Now that you've got your spooky silhouette all finished, there's one more thing you need to do, and that is erase ALL your pencil marks. The best eraser for the job is a white eraser because it's soft and doesn't leave ugly smudges on your paper. Sanford is the brand I have, but I'm sure there are other companies that make them.

You can see the eraser here. I think it's called a "Magic White" or something like that.

So here's what you can do to mask all the "stuff" on the inside of your card.  Cut two pieces of paper, slightly smaller than the face of the card and stick them to the inside of your card. I used glue dots because they were sitting on my messy art table. Double sided tape would work, also. And probably glue stick. Wet glue like Elmer's isn't my favorite because it makes the paper squinchy (= wrinkly). 

You're probably wondering, "Why doesn't she use one paper and fold it in half, then glue it in?" Well, I'll tell you. I once spent 47 minutes one day trying that very thing on another card and I couldn't for the life of me get the damned thing to go in so that: a) the card closed/opened flat and/or b) the inside paper didn't buckle. Incredibly frustrating. So I don't mess with that shit anymore. If you've figured out how to do it and can explain it to me, I'd love  to know.

Do you love this card, but don't have it in you right now to make one? You can buy a printed version of this very card, plus a hand-decorated envelope right here.

Do you want to try this project on a grand scale, with kids? (I salute you for your bravery!) Check out Mrs. Picasso's Art Room. 
She's got some great ideas.

 


Hey! Remember these?
You didn't throw them away, did you? Be sure to save them because in my next tutorial I'm going to show you something fun to do with them. It's a recycling/upcycling kind of thing.

Thanks for stopping by! See you next time...
(Shared on Homemade Mondays) 

Paper Decorating Tutorial: Bubble Marbling

Here's a really messy, fun way to decorate paper for stationery, envelopes, art journaling or anything else you can think of! Did I say it's messy? Yes. And sticky. And kids will love it.  You will, too!

This is what you need:

Yes, those are tomatoes in the background. Also a cool balsamic vinegar bottle I can't throw away and a can of the best chai tea ever - Big Train.  Just like you get at The Cow's End in Venice, California.

* small containers, one for each color you intend to use. Don't use plastic, unless you don't care about the container
* bubbles - a regular, one person size is fine. You'll have lots left over. Trust me.
* food coloring
* sugar
* a teaspoon measuring spoon
* straws - one for each color is ideal. I only had one, so I had to wash it off each time I changed colors. A pain.
* paper for decorating. This can be regular copy paper or card stock, white or colored.

This is what you do:
Pour a small amount of the bubbles into each container. By small, I mean like 1/4" - 1/2". Do Not Fill Up Your Containers. You'll have more bubble dye than you know what to do with. I promise. Trust me.

Next, add the food coloring to each container.  I used orange, green and purple, because you know what month it is...

I had to mix my own orange. The local grocery store had neon colors! Of course I had to buy them. I used neon green and neon purple.

 Mix up your colors. Don't forget to use separate spoons or wash your one spoon after each color. I don't mean to sound insulting - it's just that I forget about stuff like that and end up with mud. I don't want that to happen to you!

I started with about 10 drops of food coloring. You might want to add more, depending on how intense you want your colors. Also, the neon green didn't show up as well as I wanted, so I added some regular green.

 Add 1 teaspoon of sugar to each color and stir until the sugar is dissolved. The sugar makes the bubbles stronger so that they don't pop as soon as you blow them. It also makes the dye stick to the paper. And it makes your fingers and the counter sticky. Remember when I said this was messy? Add "wet rag" to the "This is what you need" list above.

 Here's the fun part: blowing bubbles! Because there is a small amount of bubble solution in the container, you may need to tilt it a bit so the tip of the straw is immersed. 

Once the bubbles have risen over the top of the container, hold the paper over the bubbles and gently touch them with the paper.  Move the paper around so the bubbles pop in different areas. After a couple of times, you'll need to blow more bubbles. Change colors at will (don't forget to wash the straw if you only have one. Better yet, pick up some extra straws from the take-out place before you do this! I wish I had done that...)

I apologize for not having a picture of the actual paper-over-the-bubble-container process for you. To my dismay, I discovered I needed three hands for holding the paper, holding the camera and pushing the button to take the picture. (Monsanto hasn't come to our house, so everyone here only has two and the husband was busy. Click here to see what I'm talking about.) 

First color

See why I added more green food coloring to the bubbles? This wasn't getting it.

You can see how the sugar makes the  bubbles stick to the paper in this and the next picture.

When you pop the bubbles, they have a kind of "skin" and leave shiny spots on the paper.

So, at this point

the entertainment value has kind of worn off. And I still have a bunch of bubble dye left:

Not sure what the shiny blue stuff is behind the purple bubbles.  My counter isn't that color...

which I didn't want to waste, but I was sick of bubbling. So, down the drain it went. And into the shower I went. Did I mention that this is a sticky, messy project?

Here are a few tips:
1. Clean off your workspace so your tomatoes don't get purple sugar bubbles on them.
2. Get a bunch of straws before you do this. (Toward the end, I was forgetting to wash my lonely straw before changing colors. Muddy bubbles = not pretty)
3. Do this early in the day when you have lots of energy - especially if children are involved. Don't start this at 8 o'clock at night after being up since 5 a.m. (Trust me. I speak from personal experience.)
4. Enjoy your cool paper! I'm sure you'll find all kinds of fun stuff to do with it.

If you try this, or have done something similar, I'd love it if you'd share your experience!

I found the information for this project in a book called Creative Correspondence by Michael & Judy Jacobs. They've got a lot of great ideas for mail art in this book.  I highly recommend it!

Shared on Homemade Mondays

ATC Swap

I'm getting ready to send off my mixed media ATCs for the swap over at Mail Me Some Art.

Since October is my very favorite month and Halloween my favorite holiday, how could I resist?

It's not too late for you to join in the fun...

Mail Art Swap

Getting my postcards ready to mail for the first swap I've done in AGES.  I'm so happy to be back into it - just another of the many perks of retirement. This swap challenge is to use paint chips (those free color sample cards you get at paint departments) on your postcards.  I'm sure that the folks at my local Home Depot now have me on a watch list because I went in the other day and literally took a huge handful. Better not go back there for a while...

If you'd like to participate in mail art swaps, check out Karen Isaacson's  blog, Mail Me Some Art
She does an amazing job of hosting LOTS of swaps!

I'm Back!

Yes, after an inordinately long hiatus, I have returned to Blog-land. So many things have happened since my last post (over a year ago!) that I'm not sure where to begin.  I guess the biggest and most wonderful news is that my husband and I retired from teaching in June. He taught for 20 years and I survived taught for 24. No, we do not miss it. Yes, we are enjoying our freedom. No, we're not bored. In fact, I'm busier now than I was when I was teaching. I understand this is a common condition among the retired. Yes, we are very blessed to have been able to retire early and I thank the gods daily for it, especially each morning when we have our leisurely coffee in the front yard (also known as "the morning room") and the rest of the world is racing around getting to work.

One of my longstanding whiny refrains has been "Working cramps my style. I don't have time to work on my art..." Now that I HAVE time, I figured I'd better stop whining and start creating.  So I am pleased to announce the opening of my Zibbet shop! Some of you may not be familiar with Zibbet. It's much like Etsy, but I find them a bit friendlier to use. At present, I'm focusing on upcycled/repurposed stationery and mail art and have already made a sale! Stop by for a visit, when you have the chance: Enveloped In Art. Here are a few examples of what you'll find:

Halloween envelopes

Kokopelli postcard

Winter Trees postcard

Autumn Stationery Packet

Halloween Stationery packet

There's been a definite learning curve involved in the computer part of this.  I must say that I find the art part much more engaging! But, I'm determined to become part of the 21st century and find my way around technology. At least enough to get my work out there. I suspect it takes me three times longer than it would someone who knows what she's doing.  So much of my life is trial and error...

There are other adventures going on around here (like reworking our city plot of land into a permaculture homestead - click on this link to see some folks who are my heroes and role models), but they will have to wait for another post!