Under The Red Roof

Spring......and Oklahoma Wind

I love Oklahoma. It's home and I'm an Okie through and through, but I am so very tired of this blasted wind. Now that we live on the prairie it's even worse. Wind makes you go a little crazy. You can't hear; you can't see; dust fills your eyes. It's oppressive. When I lay out in the sun on a windy day I never feel like I'm getting tan. Feels like the wind is blowing the sun away. I SWEAR I don't get as tan on windy days.

Given that spring is in the air, I felt like making one of my signs. I really thought I had had my fill of those signs (besides the SEVERAL Merry signs I have promised for Christmas '08.....I will make them.....cross my heart). However, S-P-R-I-N-G is sort of a perfect fit and I bought a grouping of beads that inspired me to use these sherbet type colors.

These are 6mm Article 5000 Swarovskis. I love the colors. I love the purity of the non-AB coated bead. AB coating changes the color and this group would actually be corrupted by it. I think I will use these to make a beaded hanger for the sign. I'm sure I'll put it in my etsy shop when it's finished.

I did a journal page a week or so ago that I am so pleased with. Astrid Haddad is a character in a book I read recently. Oh, what a fantastic book. The kind of book that gets into your soul. It stays with you for a long time. Songs In Ordinary Time by Mary McGarry Morris. One day I was perusing ebay and spotted a pair of old glasses among a lot of found objects. IMMEDIATELY I said, "My God....those are Astrid's glasses!" Had to have them. Got them and waited patiently to find Astrid herself. Thumbing through a fashion magazine and BINGO! There she was.

I'm finding that using small pieces from vintage bottle or can labels is great fun.

Also wanted to let you know that I finally got vintage wallpaper mini-packs listed in my etsy shop. Lovely patterns in non-flocked papers. Fifteen different patterns. I still have a handful of flocked mini-packs too. I have 2 or three more than what's listed in the inventory. Also have a few more of the larger flocked and regular packs than what's listed. My next mission for etsy is the mystery scrap packs I promised. I WILL get that done in the next few days. Next....I NEED to make art. I've been so deprived lately with other obligations. Hoping to be free soon.

Also, if you missed my post yesterday, please scroll down and see Penny's lovely work, photos and life.

Get Ready for the Work of a Truly Remarkable Artist

Sorry it's taken me so long to show you the work of my new friend Penny. Penny's work moves me like the rocky shorline of the Monterray Penensula at sunrise. Like the serene, almost supernatural, beauty of Walden Pond. Like my great Uncle Lloyd's pawn shop back in the 60s when there were still civil war remnants lying about. I'm not sure I've ever seen anything like it before. The closest I can come to describing the mood of her work would be the book Interior Alchemy. As you know, I love old things. Penny's work, like nothing I've ever seen before, seems to actually carry with it the ghosts of the past. Like if you wrapped this representation of Fagen's daughter around your wrist, closed your eyes and spun around several times you'd be in the factory where Lottie gathered the remnents for her cotton dress.

I think this next cuff might be my favorite:

Some jewelry:

Collage:

Some hand-dyed laces:

Amazing photography:

I could go on and on. Take a look at her Flickr Photostream and her etsy shop and her blog. You will be amazed. Enjoy. ******EDIT****** I've lopped off the right side of some of Penny's photos. I fixed the first collage which was practically cut in half! Sorry. You can get the idea from these photos then go look at her blog, flickr and etsy.

What I've been doing:

I've been cutting wallpaper for the mini-packs I promised. I will have them up in my etsy shop sometime today and will also have the wallpaper scrap packs. The scrap packs will be "mystery" packs so I can just cram scraps into a cello bag without worrying about presentation. If I worried about presentation, it would never get done. I've also been working on two custom collages I should be able to show soon and a little friend journal of Heather's. I'm behind in my Journaling Without Fear group, but there are lots of great pages to view there. Next week I should be able to jump back into that. I think that's about it for now. I'll try to be more efficient at updating my blog. Thanks for hangin with me.

Show & Tell Sunday....a bit late

I really have lots to say, but I can't think of it right now and I've got to hurry and get Jackson in the bath so I'll just post some of the photos I shared in this flickr group. The theme was vintage jewelry. Well, I happen to love vintage jewelry! I didn't post last week since the theme was vintage hankies and I have maybe 10. Don't really consider that a collection.

Oh, one thing I've needed to clarify with all you flickr users. I've recently been trying to upload a bunch of my photos into my photostream. By the comments I'm getting it seems everyone thinks I've been really busy and productive lately!! Trust me I haven't. All that stuff is 2, 3 and 4 years old! I wish I were that on top of my game. In order to be that productive over a 2 week period, I would need to be a widow with grown and MOVED OUT children. LOL.

Okay, here are some rather bad photos of some of my vintage jewelry pieces. You can see more by using the above flickr link.

The above photo is only cool because the brooch is so MASSIVE.

And one more. The next photo is a pair of earrings I bought almost 20 years ago. They are antique. Very, very old. I wish you could see the amazing intricate detail, but my camera cannot capture it. These are marked, but all I can make out is "sterling." I'll try to scare up my magnifying glass to get a better look. Please let me know if you know anything about these earrings or could take a stab at the approximate date. They are screw backs (needless to say). I absolutely love these earrings. I wish I could see the woman who wore these.

I will do a more thorough update tomorrow. Last week was one of those weeks where you are never at home. Too many things going on. This next week will be pretty busy too. Can't wait for summer!

I've also found a new blog to share with you. It is soooooooooo yummy. Amazing re-purposing design skills. Love this woman! I'll be sure to post a link tomorrow.

More Journaling Without Fear

Trying to devote all my attention to three things. A round robin I'm doing, 2 custom collages I need to finish and this group. I've been doing oh so remarkably well at keeping my studio picked up. I know I keep going on and on about it, but it's making a huge difference in my life and my ability to be productive.

Here is my most recent journal page. We were to choose a song that would be the background music for our day. This one fit really well last week.

I've also added a few things to my etsy shop.

Some fiber packs because I have way more than I could ever possibly use.

This coming week I will be listing some vintage swarovski assortments. Here are some photos of what will be in the pack minus 30 ss16 Rose AB flatbacks. I'm waiting for those to arrive. If you are not familiar with how they size rhinestones, ss16 is about 4mm or a touch over 1/8". The gold flatbacks you see in the following photos are also ss16. It's a great size. I'll work on showing samples of how I use these stones. Add another thing to my to-do list. The gold stones are known as Aurum and they are pretty hard to find. The finish on these is matte which I really like. I like it better than the shiny ones. However, these can be polished to bring out the shine if you are so inclined. Not me thank you. I think it might be a tad tedious to polish something so small. The cabs (smooth round stones) are vintage. The little fuchsia faceted balls are also vintage and discontinued as are the round faceted bead pendants. The large, unusual crystal rhinestone is not vintage, but very hard to find. I don't even know what they are called. These assortments will be very limited. Note the flat portion of the fuchsia faceted ball. That's where you put the glue (E6000 of course)! They look really cool used as you would use flatback rhinestones. They are 5mm. I've also been encouraged by Kim to get moving on putting together packets of my vintage wallpaper scraps. What keeps me from getting that done is presentation. I can't very well take photographs of each and every pack and there will be little consistency to the packs so I have back burnered the whole thing. Kim suggested I do mystery scrap packs. That way I won't have to worry about presentation and I can just get it done. G-E-N-I-U-S! I'm all over it. I truly am getting tired of that pile of scraps in the corner of my living room. I promise to blow the dust off of them before sticking them in the pack ;). I also had another good suggestion from an etsy buyer. She wondered if I ever sold mini packs of my non-flocked wallpaper. Hmmm. Never crossed my mind and I think it's a great idea. Oooow, I can put together a really pretty pack of those. I'll let you know when I get this wallpaper business under control. Oh! almost forgot to upload the Swarovski photos. I apologize for not having the kind of camera that captures good photos of jewels. I did the best I could and I guess you'll just have to trust that they are spectacular.

Okay, I'm off to do more fearless journaling!

What Have I Been Doing??

Let's see. What have I been doing? Mostly packing orders and cutting wallpaper. Thanks to all of you who ordered over the past week or so. I was pretty much caught off guard with all the orders and I'm afraid I got a little behind. Everything is mailed, but not as quickly as I normally ship. I did go ahead and prepare more mini flocked packs which you can find in my etsy shop. I've changed the front of the pack and the majority of you will receive the new label that's currently pictured in the etsy listing. I still have quite a few more things to list in my shop, but need to find the time to photograph and package all of it. I will be selling some of my wonderful vintage and rare swarovski. I'm thinking I will do little mixed packs. I'm forcing myself not to hoard this stuff. It will definitely be limited because I can only be so healthy. Cannot totally stop hoarding. It's not going to happen. Old dog here. But, I know I have way, way more than I will ever use in a lifetime so I am letting some of it go. Others may as well enjoy it too. Besides, if I sell some, I can buy more. Right?? Yes.

How is everyone doing on the organization/anti-hoarding front?? I must say I'm very proud of myself. I have managed to maintain a clean workspace. Of course it gets crazy while I'm creating, but I have followed Tim Holtz example of completely cleaning up at the end of the work day. It is really working for me. I have also taken measures to be better at responding to emails in a timely manner. I completely cleaned out my inbox which was up to nearly 1,000. I knew there were things in there I needed to deal with so I painstakingly saved everything that needs response and shucked the rest. I try to answer 3 per day at least. Hoping to be caught up soon then be able to stay on top of it daily. Next big move is Google Reader. I am 1/3 finished with entering all my blog urls and will soon be able to check in at Google Reader everyday and only go to the blogs who have updated. As I type in the urls, I mark them as "read" so I can start fresh. Soon, I will be a good little blog visitor. A previous deficiency that has plagued me with guilt. Heck, I might even bother reading Will's blog! Sadly, I put the blogroll of all my friends at the bottom of my priority list. These girls were my very first online friends. So talented and giving. Love these women so much and intend to visit their blogs more frequently. SO! It feels great to take some control back into my own hands. I'm the only one who can change me and I'm determined to do it. There is absolutely no reason any of us should be unable to achieve our dreams. We just need to have faith and confidence in ourselves and our unique abilities. Then get organized and work daily toward making it happen. One thing is for sure, if you do nothing, you will accomplish nothing. The supportive, loving and accomplished Jennifer Paganelli once told me to get a little book called, Write it Down, Make it Happen. She said that book helped her a lot. It's in my amazon cart soon to be heading my way.

Finally, I have had a little time to do some Journaling Without Fear. My plan is to become very involved in this group with the hope of getting back into the art journaling habit and hopefully inspire others to embrace this most liberating form of expression. I've also been slooooowly, but surely uploading all my photos to Flickr. Sheesh. That will take some time. A lot of time. I'm only just realizing the beauty of Flickr. I totally love it and I know I'm behind the times. I'm always slow to catch on. Soon I will have Heather get her butt over here and put me up one of those cool flickr mosaic links. I WANT ONE! Constance kindly offered, months ago, to get on the phone with me to give me a full tutorial on all the ins and outs of using typepad so I will be taking her up on that offer fairly soon. Need to get a few other things behind me then I will do a complete blog overhaul. It's time. I'll do another handmade family history collage for my topper. It's my thing and I'd feel off if I didn't have a family collage up there.

Okay. Enough for now. The new mini flocked packs are up and I'll let you know when I get some new things listed. I'll shoot for getting them up over the weekend. For now I'll leave you with a few photos. First is the new front of the mini pack.

I'm also quite pleased with myself over this packaging. Not so much the topper it's pretty ho-hum, but LOOK AT THAT COOL CELLO BAG!! What, may I ask, were the chances of finding the perfect bag for holding a 1 1/2 x 11 inch pack of labels??? I heart this package so much.

Finally, a Journaling Without Fear page. We were to pick one of our favorite quotes and build a page around it. Heather made fun of this. Well, she said it was sissy-pretty (not her words, but definitely her implication) so I am really working on doing pages that I would do if NO ONE were going to see my journals. I am certainly no Teesha Moore or Pam Garrison or Suzan Buckner. Speaking of Suzan, go look at this post. Love seeing a step-by-step of how she creates a page. Okay, so here's my sissy-pretty page.

I will say this for myself regarding this page. I worked extremely fast and didn't give a single move a second thought. Just slopped it on without giving it much thought at all. Liberating for me who is fully capable of taking 2 days to design a tag!

Ta-ta for now. Thanks for visiting!

Journaling Without Fear

I've got a busy day going on here. I thought people might like to have some mini flocked wallpaper packs and I was right! Thank you for your orders. I'm a bit backed up, but I hope to get most everything out today. Might have a couple that go tomorrow. I've listed more mini packs in my etsy shop.

Here is a look at the journal I made for Heather's Journaling Without Fear group. Of course I'm behind with the prompts. I'm closing in though. I'll post some of the pages here, but most will be posted on my Flickr. I'm slowly but surely getting my photos uploaded there. Wow, it's going to take a while. I'm pretty pleased with this journal. It's a bit wild, but I wanted to use that retro fabric for the spine and it just sort of lead me over the top. It's engineered in a modified version Teesha's construction. If anyone will ever GET ME THE FLIP CAMERA I HAD ON MY BIRTHDAY LIST, I'd do a tutorial.

Continuing to Feel More in Control

I've been doing pretty darn good at staying focused on the things I really need to do. I did not bid on what is possibly the most beautiful wallpaper I've ever seen. A friend of mine won it and she lives near me so I'll be getting me some even if it takes a little aggression to acquire it or bribery. Whatever works. I'll figure it out :).

I've heard from lots of other hoarders and received some good advice. Both Sarah and Michelle suggested Freecycle which has groups all over the U.S. devoted to recycling and reducing the amount of crap that goes into our landfills. Be sure to see if there is a group in your community. Of course there isn't one in mine. I considered starting one, but felt like that would be taking this healthy-level-of-collecting-and-discarding thing a little over the top. Who am I kidding? I'll never be that mentally healthy. Laura (if you have a blog Laura, let me know) suggested donating to the school. DUH! I can't believe I didn't think of it myself considering I spent 3 years volunteering as the art teacher's helper and am aware of how much they need ANYTHING. BTW, I'll be volunteering again next year when Jackson starts kindergarten. Can't wait. I learn so much from those young people and their art. Kim suggested selling my extra stuff on ebay or etsy and donating the proceeds. Great idea and makes me realize I also have a greed problem that should probably be addressed, but I think I'll get my new wood floors and my studio finished before I deal with that little problem. Candice says cleaning the work space every day when you finish is called "equalizing" by the professional organizers. I've been doing it since I did the big clean out and it's a HUGE burden lifter for me. Tim Holtz does it every day. Well, every day he's creating in his studio and not jetting all over the world!

Candice also said I should go ahead and schedule the installation of my wood floors in order to force myself to get it done. Brian and I discussed that this morning and that's what we plan to do. However, what Candice doesn't realize is I need to first paint the entire interior of the house, minus the kids rooms because they are done, and Brian and I had planned to do the painting ourselves. It's this plan that is keeping the whole project on hold. So, we decided this morning, we will hire someone to do all the painting. We will schedule it and be forced to get the house prepared for the painters by a certain date. After the paint comes the wood floors....then the DECORATING!! Brian doesn't begin to have time to do the interior painting anyway and we aren't really all that good at it. Much better to call in the professionals. I HATE taping off and caulking.

My through-thick-and-thin friend William, says he loves me just the way I am. Thank you my precious enabler. I love you too. Finally, it's clear that me, Jeanne, Cerri, and Heather are just plain screwed up. I did buy two things from ebay yesterday, but they were cheap and I need them. Really, I do. Oh! When the mail came yesterday, I spotted John barreling up my drive and thought, "what the hell is he doing pulling in??? I don't have that much stuff coming." Well, this and one other box is what he hauled in.

I told John I must have been drunk when I ordered it because I had no recollection. Of course I don't drink much at all so I thought maybe my xanax had kicked in. Anyway, I opened the smaller box and put away the contents (already can't remember what it was) then I was ready to see what was in this HUGE box and try to figure out where the heck I was going to put the stuff. Then I saw them. The words Media Mail. Awe....a cookbook lot I got for William. Not my clutter. Relief. Kendra's problem not mine.

I'll wind this up by saying I am so very glad my dad was a pack rat. My mother was little-miss-perfect who never knew a day of clutter in her life, but Dad, oh my.....the King of clutter. If it weren't for him I would not have the old wood burning stove from Grandma and Grandpa's farm. The South Place where my mom was born. Who, I say, who would throw away something that dates all the way back to The South Place???? Mom and Grandpa that's who, but NOT Dad. He carted that thing home to our storage shed and now it resides in my storage shed :). Where it should be. I mean it is from The South Place. I also wouldn't have this gem if it weren't for my dad.

My grandparents first telephone. "Sarah, would you get me the diner?" (you've got to be an Andy Griffith fan to get it). Honestly, though, who wouldn't want this?? It weighs just about a thousand pounds. Brian was afraid it might take our wall out if we hung it. It didn't.

Okay, I've got lots more to say, but I'll save it for another day. Oh....I'm putting these little flocked packs in my etsy shop.

Just two for now. See if anyone is interested. It's an assortment of 12 patterns each 5x7. Thanks to all of you who have commiserated with me on the hoarding issue. Hopefully, they are making strides in finding a cure :).