tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57032801417272357972024-02-20T13:53:46.465-05:00still life everydaya blog about mindful parenting, arting, crafting, laughing, and living.still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.comBlogger199125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-7846362392491894242013-06-14T17:00:00.000-04:002013-06-14T17:18:18.334-04:00summer scheduleIt always blew me away when I lived in Arizona how early kids finish the school year, though it makes sense since the summer is nearly uninhabitable. At least, the kids have a month of decent weather. I've been reading all my West Coast friends talking about summertime schedules and fun trips. Here on the East Coast, my baby girl is still in school until the 20th of June. It seems to drag on and on, but it has given me time to prepare for having her here all day. I just cannot wait for her to be home all day. Thor and I have so much fun with her. We miss her when she's in school, and next year she is in her first full day class. (gulp.)<br />
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Thomas Harry and I are going to be staring at each other for eight hours, constantly contradicting one another.<br />
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"Mama, me eat popsicle."<br />
"No, my love, it is 8am."<br />
"Yes, Mama."<br />
"No, love."<br />
"Yes."<br />
"No."<br />
"Yes."<br />
"Uh, no."<br />
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This is what we currently do for the two point five hours she is gone to Kindergarten. Obviously, we will be looking for some activities during the day. I'm thinking one of those classes with mixed sports at a little gym or something. Library series of storytime. Maybe music class. But I'll worry about that as we get closer to September, and Bea being gone all day settles in my bones and heart. (gulp again).<br />
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For now, I am anticipating the summer will be filled with fun and laughter and water and all kinds of artsy things. This year, our family is taking our first vacation without any other extended family members. I know it sounds funny, but because Sam's family is scattered all over, and his mother lives an airplane ride away, we always schedule our vacations to visit his family. I adore my in-laws, and my family of origin too. But this year, we just wanted it to be the four of us for a week, particularly because Sam has been working, come August, 60 hour weeks for an entire year. We have missed him terribly. We have never just gone on vacation to a place we both selected alone with our children and dog. It is strange to think about that, but it just never happened. We rented a lodge in the Adirondacks in Upstate New York. CAN. NOT. WAIT. It is actually a totally electricity-free place. There is a propane generator for hot water and cooking, but otherwise, no technology. No television. No phones. Just hiking, fishing, canoeing, spinning yarns, meditating...it is like a dream vacation to me. I am bringing my guitar, per my husband's request, for nightly entertainment, along with games and crystals. So cool.<br />
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Beatrice is signed up for a few camps--soccer, yoga, and swimming. Thomas is also in baby yoga, hopefully. I also decided--to keep us on track with school and writing/reading for Bea--to create a schedule for each day so the kids don't lie around all day waiting for something to happen. I also can busy myself quite easily for ten hours with art, writing, reading and forgetting to leave the house.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMv3VIhrMoBUB6iUToNUnsEbB9AFn1nXK4r-9sj8l_ebbID6_Kxi7oIaCtQyLQyMvrK4donUHfW3scMuC7ZGqjr17SAV0BexbkWIGmJgtlXfCClFf9QHAYaTuYkAElmPnEU0i4bbu_ov8/s1600/schedule.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNMv3VIhrMoBUB6iUToNUnsEbB9AFn1nXK4r-9sj8l_ebbID6_Kxi7oIaCtQyLQyMvrK4donUHfW3scMuC7ZGqjr17SAV0BexbkWIGmJgtlXfCClFf9QHAYaTuYkAElmPnEU0i4bbu_ov8/s400/schedule.jpg" width="272" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I hate what I wrote about bedtime. Ignore it.</i></td></tr>
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I tried to give us some prompts through the day, rather than think of it as a carved-in-stone schedule. I also created each day to be a theme of the day--Make It Monday, Take a Trip Tuesday, Wind Down Wednesday, Thinking Thursday, and Fun Friday. I pulled so much of this stuff from Pinterest, I can hardly take credit for any of it. But the idea of the theme of the day is to have a focus for each day. I also amassed some books/journals for our days. The kids each have an art journal, and now a writing journal. Bea is writing like a fiend, and I want to continue her obsession with writing stories. And to do that, I factored in time every day to write and journal. I pulled together some of my meditation and prayer books for children to have a meditation time daily. I also grabbed a cool book to teach little kids Spanish, since I currently only sing to them in Spanish. And another book of cool Science Experiments for kids aged 2-6--PERFECT.<br />
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One of the things I absolutely love is this book called the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Kids-Nature-Book-Experiences/dp/1885593074/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371242521&sr=8-1&keywords=365+kid%27s+nature+book" target="_blank">Nature Book</a>. This book is for kids, and it is designed to get them to pay attention to the seasons and the way nature changes throughout the year. We have gone through phases where we use it every day. I put it in our schedule so we get back in the habit of it.<br />
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The Daily Theme thing is centered around the daily activity between 9a-12p. So Make It Monday says, "Craft. Art. Paint. Build. Create. Design. Sculpt. Draw. Make a Recipe. Sew. Sketch. Sing. If we can't make it, let's read about art, poetry or music." Take A Trip Tuesday says, "Zoo. Movie. Aquarium. Museum. National Park. Hike. Outing. Beach. Train. If we can't take a trip, let's draw a picture about somewhere else." Wind Down Wednesday is our errand day so it says, "Look at the clouds. Run errands. Laundry. Play at Home.Giggle. Let's make errands fun. You make the list, and you look for things." Thinking Thursday says, "Library. Research. Science experiments. Science museums. If we can't do science, let's read about scientists." Fun Friday says, "Play dates. Rollerskating. Biking. Visiting friends. Find a craft. Fly a kite. Have a picnic. PIck out of the jar. We can make any and everyday fun!"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv4Rr0wQBTYlPw7P1KIaj-USWs4r4SEgKECvYadNFMSSmr5BX6tj1fRDLVGn1A7G0a0M8oCO0AZEa8JBmdfrGCSzEil6BPkcnWXbY2tl6XEIeEkrhO9ZtbJkbk0E0QxEmwrjpdxMHr5jd/s1600/IMG_20130614_152854.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAv4Rr0wQBTYlPw7P1KIaj-USWs4r4SEgKECvYadNFMSSmr5BX6tj1fRDLVGn1A7G0a0M8oCO0AZEa8JBmdfrGCSzEil6BPkcnWXbY2tl6XEIeEkrhO9ZtbJkbk0E0QxEmwrjpdxMHr5jd/s640/IMG_20130614_152854.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I also added daily chores for the kids and daily chores for me, since I am constantly behind on my cleaning. Le sigh.</i></td></tr>
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For each kid, I pulled together a basket with their journals, a workbook (Bridge from K to 1st for Bea, and for Thomas a Brain Quest Pre-K) to work on a page a day, Taro Gomi coloring books, watercolor paints, activity fun book, journals, crayons, smocks, and colored pencils.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I am keeping their baskets centrally located, so they will go in them throughout the day.</i></td></tr>
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I also pulled together a Mama basket with a dry erase table top easel, Teach Them Spanish, Science book, Science experiment cards, Mindful Movements by Thich Nhat Hahn, Kid's Nature book, two additional kid's meditation books, the daily prayer and affirmation book, a bin with pens, pencils and markers for only Mami, and a jar of activities to do when they are bored.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNmWmHjHJmhyuvqMTIIWC3ZrBwxAhV5B8tj2OLkbbjoCj4uzwQt1R9a6lqyQW6FU1gCs15dSvN31w4iYDHSl2Aqsqhfc9WX_6eB5Ikcr-TWgmlfzzRMEhcjtflFOBvmQZqpBWJ2qALTRD/s1600/mamabasket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNmWmHjHJmhyuvqMTIIWC3ZrBwxAhV5B8tj2OLkbbjoCj4uzwQt1R9a6lqyQW6FU1gCs15dSvN31w4iYDHSl2Aqsqhfc9WX_6eB5Ikcr-TWgmlfzzRMEhcjtflFOBvmQZqpBWJ2qALTRD/s640/mamabasket.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I have to admit that one of my favorite things to do is hit Container Store for our organizing. Love these baskets.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKr_VvrDoMn6LvmEo1fzRsEDDJefqXQJSPookaX4Tb7InK37cBRDCAxuFDt3jfpAY60Ua2vCYoXKSaDrywaxhP59XWmSKdGJJK7gKYIn_RIBssI6wnmZBMpWw8g0d3J9cFySYYWyoV6von/s1600/thejar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="518" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKr_VvrDoMn6LvmEo1fzRsEDDJefqXQJSPookaX4Tb7InK37cBRDCAxuFDt3jfpAY60Ua2vCYoXKSaDrywaxhP59XWmSKdGJJK7gKYIn_RIBssI6wnmZBMpWw8g0d3J9cFySYYWyoV6von/s640/thejar.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Activity jar. You can add to it when you do something fun that you think, let's do that again some time (but not always.)</i></td></tr>
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In the activity jar, I wrote out fun little things I think the kids would love to do. Here is my list, if anyone is interested. My idea is that when the kids mope around, or on Friday when we have Fun Friday, the kids pull one of these out of the jar and we go do it!<br />
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<ul>
<li>Let's make a blanket tent</li>
<li>Let's pull out our watercolors and paint outside</li>
<li>Let's bake a batch of cookies</li>
<li>Make Japanese Heart Cut-outs</li>
<li>Let's knock down some dominoes</li>
<li>let's go for a hike.</li>
<li>Let's pick some flowers</li>
<li>Let's play dress-up</li>
<li>Let's have a tea party</li>
<li>YOGA</li>
<li>Let's write a letter</li>
<li>Let's make a self-portrait</li>
<li>Hopscotch</li>
<li>SOCCER</li>
<li>Let's Dance to Hare Krishna music</li>
<li>Pick a Recipe</li>
<li>Let's have a water fight</li>
<li>Let's go for a scavenger hunt</li>
<li>Let's take a bath</li>
<li>Let's go to the pet store</li>
<li>Let's do sidewalk chalk</li>
<li>Let's go to the playground</li>
<li>Let's do a cool photoshoot</li>
<li>Let's make paper airplanes</li>
<li>Let's paint our faces</li>
<li>Let's make a book</li>
<li>Pick an animal, and let's find out everything we can about it.</li>
<li>Let's go to a craft store and get inspired</li>
<li>Let's play with stamps</li>
<li>Let's play doctor</li>
<li>Let's draw each other</li>
</ul>
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Most of what I pulled together was from different sources on Pinterest and the internet, as well as things we just love to do, or I'd like to see happen, this summer. I'd love to know your parenting summer ideas. Link up here if you want.<br />
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<script src="http://www.blenza.com/linkies/easylink.php?owner=stilllife365&postid=14Jun2013" type="text/javascript"></script>still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-74438527615774432112013-04-16T09:08:00.001-04:002013-04-16T17:52:26.990-04:00doodles, angels, parties, oh MY!Okay. It's been a long while since I have written on this blog. My fall was intensely busy, and I was dealing with some really difficult health issues that sapped my energy and creative fire. When I got my mojo back, it was suddenly December, and January I spent a month and a half in massage therapy school, though I have withdrawn since then. I have been doing all kinds of crafty/artsy things, but just haven't been on the computer much at all. Most of my computer time is via my phone, so it basically only doing things like Scrabb.le and posting pictures on Fac.ebook. Though I am still doodling all my to-do lists with pencil drawings, and that sometimes feels like enough.<br />
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So, since SEPTEMBER of 2012, holy crap! I cannot post all of what I have been working on, but I'll post some. I began doing more angel and ascended master paintings, even painting twelve small angel paintings for an angel class for my lovely friend <a href="http://www.jewelrybyfifthelement.com/" target="_blank">Christine</a>, who is an incredible channel and jewelry maker, taught. That work included twelve angel bookmarks customized with her information on the back. I loved doing that work, and hope to do more of it. Having a laminator is so much fun.<br />
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I just love moving into this realm with my artwork, doing intuitive and meditation artwork. My friend Mary just started a group on Facebook for intuitive artists called Sacred Artists, and I am so glad to connect with women like that. In that realm, I did my Reiki Level I training, and doing medicine work for people.Creating medicine bundle, doing my intuitive healing work and tarot readings. In May, I'm doing the Munay-ki rites. All of this work feels like the place where my soul sings. Healing and spiritual work. It is finally all coming together, and then with my artwork. It is the complete package for me. I should write about some of that work here.<br />
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Onto some of the bigger crafty things I did in the last month. My kids both had birthdays, and I had parties for each of them. I was determined to keep them separate this year, since they are the same week, and my tendency is to throw it all together and only have to clean up once.<br />
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Thomas, though, asked for a truck cake. It was the only thing he asked for for his birthday.<br />
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I made the truck out of two sheet cakes, and a pan of brownies for the wheels. I went to one of those large craft stores and bought some cake decorator's icing, but then did the final layer with the new Cool Whip icing, which my children want to bathe in. I filled the back with the rest of the brownies cut up to look like sod, or rocks or something that trucks carry. Maybe it is the Panamanian in me, but it very much looks like a low rider to me. And I couldn't stop singing <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TWS0Y9ihyA" target="_blank">Low Rider</a> the entire party. The lights are jelly beans, and the rest is achieved with icing and silver glittery cake decoration. It was terribly fun to make this cake.<br />
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We carried the theme through with a cement truck pinata filled with...wait for it, bouncy balls and gummy bears. Truck bunting and mustache drinky straws. It was a lot of fun for Thor and his cousins.<br />
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The next party, a week later, was for Beezus' sixth birthday. She wanted a flower fairy tea party. A few years ago, I bought a whole used tea set--eight settings--at a thrift shop for twelve buck. And we have kept it and played with it often. So, it was a two hour party, seven girls were invited, making it eight girls all together, and I asked my nephews to be waiters, and they were AMAZING! I could not believe how into it they got, walking around with appetizers, and serving the girls. I want them at every party.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The tea set, and my beautiful birthday girl.</i></td></tr>
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So, first, our decorations...I still had paper flowers from Beezus' four year old birthday party. I added to them this year with some other cheap paper flower decorations. I think the most expensive thing I bought was the flower garland for our pillars into the dining room.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzEXGWKM3QAqGUN1FpLUuTPOtKOpIyAFjsMSbdGFt4cK7ghcT5iYZoKqIl7PR3o5V_qfigN1sg_sRhe8vohlCyPQFyWkYnCAgUUELcVRKUihBVX8TG6es9lN7Mv-ZR1im-I82j8BUk9zu/s1600/IMG_8565.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkzEXGWKM3QAqGUN1FpLUuTPOtKOpIyAFjsMSbdGFt4cK7ghcT5iYZoKqIl7PR3o5V_qfigN1sg_sRhe8vohlCyPQFyWkYnCAgUUELcVRKUihBVX8TG6es9lN7Mv-ZR1im-I82j8BUk9zu/s640/IMG_8565.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The entrance to the dining area with flower garland, the hanging paper flower puffs and paper butterflies.</i></td></tr>
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I was really looking for paper flowers, though I almost bought fake silk flowers at Michaels, because I was getting desperate, so I saw these at Home Goods for $15. It was worth it. I know I will reuse them again and again. You can see all the puffed out flowers, and butterflies everywhere.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkUC7ylIX9zAB7KoFD_nKkthsvBBj6Qql9UeV2kc7Ok8F9XM_BSLKOaY-Qu-NEz_jx4e7lggPxTVYeHSOtUqxdmGzssm5MRZyajKfthBtm8tC0bd0yZ0kLcIgeVRq37jdVrwT69j08y09/s1600/IMG_8824.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkUC7ylIX9zAB7KoFD_nKkthsvBBj6Qql9UeV2kc7Ok8F9XM_BSLKOaY-Qu-NEz_jx4e7lggPxTVYeHSOtUqxdmGzssm5MRZyajKfthBtm8tC0bd0yZ0kLcIgeVRq37jdVrwT69j08y09/s640/IMG_8824.JPG" width="315" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I bought these little packages of <br />flowers, birds, and bees <br />and decorated my willow.</i></td></tr>
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I set the time of the party for 2-4p, so I wouldn't have to serve a meal and could just do fruit and sweets for the girls. I had a small cake that was going to be the "wish cake. I had been buying cheap tea cups for months when I ran across them at thrift shops. I baked the cupcakes directly into them, not sure if they would burst, or work. They worked. So, mental note for all of you--you can bake in tea cups! Frosted them with pink with candy flowers. My inner girly girl came out in spades here. It was so much fun. You can kind of see, but I baked the rest in flower cupcake holders, and they are so so cute.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJBh1xTforcnFcMOsWkycaJMt139NCkEZv0U4EnisxHFwJ-9rFhAwnqSa9vi3FMZsWa_R7Ur1YENjlmsLJ9t4G6VgKc0xzRevzK1RRLjrvdxzDjIVMFfb48hu890Xtzc1JGUKV8q__0Hb/s1600/IMG_8560.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJBh1xTforcnFcMOsWkycaJMt139NCkEZv0U4EnisxHFwJ-9rFhAwnqSa9vi3FMZsWa_R7Ur1YENjlmsLJ9t4G6VgKc0xzRevzK1RRLjrvdxzDjIVMFfb48hu890Xtzc1JGUKV8q__0Hb/s640/IMG_8560.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I put strawberries on toothpicks and my nephews walked them to the girls, asking them if they wanted a berry.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>I could not resist a picture of my nephews. They came dressed in white shirt, black pants, and my sister sewed them bow ties and aprons. They also made her stop and get them mustaches. My nephew Max kept talking with an Italian accent, "No, I'ma aMario, only anaked." Which apparently is a punchline to a joke I do not know.</i></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADY8tuy14wtOh3Ul7ixMBPNxIFe7XNNnZlmB9Q77fSP5BDTKfGMz9RENB7R3AH54MvN_-jeGAbcbIHfofViJqMWqqq0OOYwx29e2PTZXskFkNHKsBP_PCp5v8fXv3WNp3vkAgd8zNqoK_/s1600/IMG_8561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiADY8tuy14wtOh3Ul7ixMBPNxIFe7XNNnZlmB9Q77fSP5BDTKfGMz9RENB7R3AH54MvN_-jeGAbcbIHfofViJqMWqqq0OOYwx29e2PTZXskFkNHKsBP_PCp5v8fXv3WNp3vkAgd8zNqoK_/s640/IMG_8561.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>We also had petit fours and fruit tarts. I made the mini-fruit tarts, but not the petit fours.</i></td></tr>
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So, the party was very DIY, but I thought I would share the hows, because it was very easy and looked hard. So, first I set the kids' playroom to be a dress-up area. I had a rack of princess dresses, which we have had for years. My sister in law gave Bea a flower girl dress from her daughter, then yard sale princess dresses. We had hand-me-down gloves from my grandmother, and little princess shoes, and wings, crowns...all of it. But we had the whole room be just for dress-up. Six year olds close the door to change, so that worked out well.<br />
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Then my sister and I painted faces. I have decorated these sheets with ways to paint faces, and the girls look through them and pick a design. Bea loves rainbows! And I love painting faces.<br />
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At the same time, in the main room, I bought these <a href="http://www.magiccabin.com/Craft-Kits/Color-in-Crowns-or-Hats-set-of-8.htm" target="_blank">color-in crowns</a>. So the table worked on crowns, while two girls at a time got their faces painted! You can see my sister painting faces in the back room, and my nephews passing out food the entire time.<br />
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To transition the girls, after all faces were painted, we had them do a parade around the yard, either with a flower, or an instrument, and their crowns. I set the table for the tea party.<br />
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Then it was tea party time.<br />
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Afterward we played freeze dance, musical chairs, egg drop races, and then just danced to a lot of <i>Call Me Maybe.</i><br />
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For the bags to take home, we had fun creating them. Beezus and I bought these one dollar wooden pencil holders. We painted them. I painted the names on them. I used to work (one of my many many strange jobs) at one of those places that has just personalized gifts for children. So, I have spent many hours painting things on boxes and acrylic containers. So, in the bag was the personalized wooden box, two pencils, a small notepad, crayons shaped like teacup and tea pot, and a homemade cotton candy lollipop.<br />
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I did this post, because people always ask me what I did, how much work I put in, how much I spent...I thought it was a fun, creative project to do with my daughter. The time it took was spread over two months, and because of that, it did not feel overwhelming. Plus, most everything was done on the cheap. The girls had a great time, and I would do it again in a heartbeat. I still haven't taken down all the flowers, because it is too cool to live in this flowersplosion.<br />
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Coming up, I am going to write more about my garden this year, and other home projects. Some of my intuitive work and crystal healing work, if anyone is interested. I miss blogging here, and will be back. Love you all.still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-54003446814909175252012-09-05T23:13:00.001-04:002012-09-05T23:14:57.028-04:00popsicle sticksIf you are ever at a craft store and see popsicle sticks on sale, buy them. Today, I found a bag of Popsicle sticks in a craft bin. I forgot I bought them last year. I have only ever really used them for waxing my eye brows. (Why do they only give you one stick in a container of wax? It makes no sense. Do you wash the stick? Hence an entire 2.99 bag of sticks.) A bunch of little girls and Thor were here, and I was pulling out craft bins, thinking about things I can make with little wooden sticks, besides a miniature Eiffel Tower.<br />
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First, I decided to make some Ojos de Dios, or Eyes of GOD! Apparently, they are a craft from the Huicol Tribe of Mexico. I just found that from the astounding powers of Google. They also symbolize the power of seeing and understanding unknown things. To me, they looked like they symbolize the four elements, and the four points on a compass, and they just looked cool, so I glued two popsicle sticks together, then started with an ombre yarn. Basically, you cross the yarn over two side (the 90 degree angle), then go under and over to the next 90 degree angle, then under and over to the next side, etc. etc. etc. It is very easy and they look cool, even if my photography is terrible. Bea made the one of the top left, then we made the red one together, then I made the rest for her and her friends, and then none of them wanted them. I liked the feathers, Bea added them for extra Eye of God mojo. Then she made those two feathered magic wands with yarn, popsicle sticks, glue, feathers and MAGIC!<br />
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This is what the back looks like, which looks cool too.<br />
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Then, Bea asked me to draw her some animals, and then cut them out, and as I was doing it, I was thinking that popsicle sticks would also become useful for the cut out animals. She colored them all.<br />
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We made puppets. The one of the right is named Beatrice. The cat is called Stripe. And the little boy stealing fruit is named Thor, not really, but for this exercise, he is named Thor.<br />
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She told me the story of Beatrice and Stripe, and I showed her another way to use her puppets--SHADOW PUPPETS! Flashlight and kids = Hours of Fun! We initially did this in the bathtub. It was awesome. The three of us fully clothed in the bathtub with a flashlight and popsicle stick people.<br />
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I think I have other stuff, but I cannot remember. I have been lax on my posting on this blog, so I just have to cut the crafts from all summer and start from here. This summer I have been studying a lot about crystals and metaphysics, so I'm not sure I am going to share that stuff on here, or the cool <a href="http://www.sagegoddess.com/magical-sabbatical/" target="_blank">Magical Sabbatical </a>I am on. </div>
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still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-72952685640673741002012-09-03T09:34:00.000-04:002012-09-03T09:34:12.693-04:00a dolly for beezusBeezus has been asking me to make her a rag doll for as long as I can remember, but with my sub par sewing skills and lack of enthusiasm for learning, that didn't really seem like it was going to happen. But finally, on Friday, she wore me down. And I started a little project. She picked this out of a book she received from Danielle called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sewing-Children-Step---step-Projects/dp/1907030239/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1346678563&sr=8-1&keywords=sewing+with+children" target="_blank">Sewing with Children</a>, though Bea didn't really help, and I didn't do anything close to the pattern, but it gave me a quick pattern for how to make each part.<br />
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Anyway, I didn't photograph along the way, but I do have some after shots with my girl.<br />
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She had named the rag doll Violet and has been carrying her around incessantly. She claims Violet helped her stay in bed last night. Thank you, Violet.<br />
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The trickiest part for me was figuring out all the little quirks of doll making, like how to put on hair, and hide embroidery floss knots since I put the face on after she was sewn together and stuffed. (Next time, all those things clearly should happen before stuffing takes place. Also the body/head section was basically one piece a rectangle with one curved side, then I gathered the neck after she was stuffed. Not exactly the most graceful way to do it, I realize now.<br />
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Bea also wanted a new dress for her, and that was a challenge since I really have never made a dress before, so I let her pick out a fat quarter from the fabric store and made this little dress, which was easy. Now, I am going to try to make one of <a href="http://sweet-verbena.blogspot.com.au/2011/07/boho-maxi-dress-tutorial.html" target="_blank">these</a>.<br />
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The thing Beezus loves most about her is that she is tall and looks like she could really be her daughter, which is exactly her words. She is kind of cute. I had to restrain from making a wee little smile on her, so she wouldn't look like the Dolly for Sue from the Island of Misfit Toys. (Incidentally, did you know her misfitness is caused by psychological problems caused by fear of abandonment and grief?) Watching that again, though, is making me think I need to dye her cheeks red. That is so cute.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/5SH1j1luFOw" width="640"></iframe>still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-36018717883060083132012-08-24T19:13:00.000-04:002012-08-24T19:13:24.406-04:00some recent work.This poor neglected blog...I wish I had more time to take pictures and post about the artwork and creations I am making in my little art studio. At the end of July, I painted thirty-five mizuko jizos for grieving women, and mailed them out all through the world. It felt incredible to do this again for International Kindness Day Project for the MISS Foundation. I made some videos about my work, but I also did a how-to on how I paint them. I wanted to post it somewhere, but ended up skipping it. Maybe one day I will show it, because people think I am crazy to do 35 paintings in one day.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1MRIdfC63iI" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Anyway, here is a mix of the work I have done in the last month.<br />
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<i>The Virgin of Guadalupe, watercolor, 9"x12" on 140 lb. cold-pressed paper.</i></div>
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I recently had a reading by a woman who channels ascended masters and angel. Archangel Gabriel came through for me, which was amazing, and then my spirit guide, Lord Lanto, the ascended master. I had had another experience hearing his name, so this was not a surprise. But I was still humbled and honored to hear this from her. She channeled him and I was blown away by what he said. Things she couldn't know...things he clearly has guided into my life experience. For example, he told me that he comes to me in the form of mourning doves, which if you have read my work, you know I have written about hearing the mourning doves before writing. After the channel left, I googled my spirit guide, which is probably the most American thing in the world to do. I know people are probably cynical about this sort of thing, but what can I say? I am who I am. Lanto is a bodhisattva. Drawn to Eastern religions and philosophy, I absolutely resonated with his approach to life and spirit. I absolutely know why he is why I have been so drawn to painting bodhisattvas for grieving women. One evening, I was meditating and felt this absolutely overtaking urge to paint him, and the little mizuko jizos popped up behind him. I love this piece and it is going to be an inspiration piece in my studio to help guide my work. I have such strong love for Lanto, as my guide, mentor, and artistic and spiritual cheerleader. So grateful to have made his acquaintance.<br />
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I have a <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/angieyingststudios" target="_blank">few meditating and yogi mamas in my shop for sale</a>. You can check out some of the other work I have done there. Looking forward to autumn and setting up our Mabon altar and doing fall crafts and fun things...this summer has been go go go. and melt. melt. melt.<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-61572980367085040642012-07-14T16:52:00.001-04:002012-07-14T16:52:53.990-04:00tea bag holderThe other day, Beezus and I went out to this little tea shop near our house for an impromptu tea party. This place also has little gifts, and I saw this fabric tea bag holder for your purse. It just screamed the perfect thank you gift for a friend who was present for me when I had my miscarriage. I also always "borrow" tea off of her. I go to a great deal of meetings where only coffee is served, but they'll give you some hot water, if you bring your own tea. And I kept thinking about it. Not wanting to spend the fifteen bucks for the fabric one from the tea shop, but also it became the "perfect" gift for Marie. Google and a sewing forum later, I found a description of how to put one together and thought I would share it here.<br />
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Not sure what a tea bag holder is? Here is a finished product:<br />
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Okay. <span style="background-color: white;">Take a piece of elastic, or binding. Or 1" x 9" strip. You are basically folding in the edges to create a nice seam, and sewing it to be about 1/4" thick. This is going to be your button loop. I do think elastic would be good for this part, but I just didn't have any.</span><br />
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Start with a piece of fabric 20" x 16"<br />
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Fold the long side (20" side) together. Good side in. Then press it.<br />
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You then sew the side opposite the fold together. 1/4" seam.<br />
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Move the seam to the middle and then press it.<br />
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Sew one of the smaller unsewn edges together. 1/4" seam.<br />
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Fold the opposing edges in about a 1/4" But leave unsewn. You will finish that later. Now, turn it right side around and press it.<br />
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Take the sewn edge, and fold it 2 1/2" in and pin it.<br />
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Sew the fold with a 1/4" seam.<br />
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Now take the opposite side and fold it 5" up.<br />
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Then fold it back 2 1/2". Pin that bad boy.<br />
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Take your loop and tuck it into the unfinished seam. (the one you tucked in.) Pin it. Sew a 1/4" seam. The first time I did this, I broke a needle, so make sure it is not too thick.<br />
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Now sew 1/4" seams at the side edges. (The two sides perpendicular to the loop.)<br />
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Now you are going to make the pockets for the tea bags by measuring in 3 1/4" from each side. Sew the line straight down the project, though, because this is also going to create your folds. This project is tri-folded.<br />
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Press the heck out of it. And fold it and press it. You fold in each side, then in half once. Do that and measure based on your loops where the button will be sewn. Hand sew this, making sure not to sew the outer pocket to the inner one.<br />
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Fill it with your favorite teas, and artificial sweetener, if you use such a thing. I don't. But I think my friend does.<br />
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Then fold it into a pouch and throw it into your purse. Eh, voila!<br />
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Hope this was clear. Happy to answer any questions in the comment section.<br />
<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-79230016473164614892012-06-27T05:30:00.000-04:002012-06-27T05:30:02.962-04:00mosaicPart of the reason I haven't been posting or writing here is that in early May, I had a miscarriage at twelve weeks. It was a very physical process and I was not up for doing much. But one weekend, while I was still bleeding and sad, I decided to finally do something about this stupid wall in my backyard.<div>
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That is my garage. Behind that wall is my husband's workshop. He is a woodworker for fun, and he creates amazing things in there. Actually, part of the reason I wanted to work on that wall was because he was building this.</div>
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From scratch. It has a tin roof, and is going to have some swings eventually. We moved our big comfty wicker chairs out there with the fire pit and it is so cozy, but that wall...egads.</div>
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So, I designed a mosaic. I have never made a mosaic on a wall before, mind you, but I wanted a project. I laid out some glass I had from our stepping stone projects ( I cannot remember if I posted about those last year. Perhaps on SLWC.) I bought some extra glass. This is what it looked like laid out:</div>
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I wanted to incorporate water, earth, sun, and air. </div>
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Here is how it developed on the wall all day.</div>
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Found that picture. Glad I broke down and moved the bench out to the garden. My back was aching.</div>
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This is the temporary final. I ran out of green and blue and besides this is nine hours of work. I plan on expanding it to the entire wall, but for now, the four elements and healing through art. Whenever I bury myself in artwork, I feel better. </div>
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<br /></div>still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-68037901802456210272012-06-26T07:00:00.000-04:002012-06-26T07:00:08.726-04:00sun catcher<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQH1W2wA-ovaxEdTKXN52d_tZjFh2BcgiM_sHTG58zesDHT7MPQjBsYaYauyjdGIIPCQ7_TcmgeApMCzRqr_GXV-fzCE9NQcGrOkehqUPk-xRibg3yVzIwea4SyNM50vEFOhPule7Eoc8Q/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQH1W2wA-ovaxEdTKXN52d_tZjFh2BcgiM_sHTG58zesDHT7MPQjBsYaYauyjdGIIPCQ7_TcmgeApMCzRqr_GXV-fzCE9NQcGrOkehqUPk-xRibg3yVzIwea4SyNM50vEFOhPule7Eoc8Q/s640/002.JPG" width="337" /></a>I bought kite paper a while ago. And by a while ago, I mean three years ago. I still have the one book I bought. It lasts a hella long time for our family, and incredibly useful. Think tissue paper that isn't able to be poked through. Right? That's awesome.<br />
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So for summer vacation, we created some kite sun catchers for the windows. <br />
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There is no special trick for these. I think they are self-explanatory.<br />
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You take two pieces of card stock, or one piece folded in half, depending on the size of whatever you are making.<br />
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We made some kites before summer vacation. So, we drew a diamond, cut out the middle. Then we glued kite paper in differing cuts and shapes to the inside of the bottom sheet. (Think of it as opening a hotdog bun. Flip the top over next to the bottom sheet. We put glue stick on the bottom black paper. You can use any adhesive--scrapbook tape, modge podge, whatevs. Using glue on the kite paper where the sun will shine through will also make the glue shine through, just a little FYI.<br />
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Then you put glue on the top flipped over piece of card stock, flip it back over and place it on top of the bottom sheet. For these kites, I also cut some ribbon for the tail.<br />
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For summer solstice, we decided to create a sun and moon combination. This is it's temporary home.<br />
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I do think these suncatchers look cooler in person. *sigh*still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-73651748036900535102012-06-25T14:59:00.003-04:002012-06-25T14:59:35.848-04:00picture pagesI've been totally MIA on this blog. I'm so sorry. I've been crafting, arting and doing all kinds of luxurious things, but just not blogging about it. One change is that I have set up an Etsy site again that is strictly my artwork. It is called <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/angieyingststudios" target="_blank">angie y. studios</a>. I will be expanding the work in there, but for now there are some mizuko jizo, some meditating mamas, some of my element and labyrinth prints and even a tarot reading. (I love giving readings! Tell me if it is too expensive.) I realize the common theme of my artwork is the sacred and grasping for the Divine. So, hopefully, that is coming through the artwork. If there is anything you want to see for sale, or think should be for sale, in there, let me know. I have many many greeting cards for sale in there, because I find them incredibly useful. But I think they might be too expensive? I don't know. It is hard to know what to charge. The blank cards cost me 1.50/card. I am also wondering if anyone is interested in an ATC swap. Not sure the theme, but sure would be cool.<br />
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ANYWAY, summer is here. Beezus' last day of pre-k was on the 15th. YAY, SCHOOL'S OUT!<br />
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I love having Beezus home. Lazy days of artwork and swimming. Popsicles and bathing suits all day long. My mother-in-law has been visiting, so everything has been slightly off schedule. Not in a bad way, just that we aren't in those long dog days of summer yet. We have been going out most days. We had a mini-heat wave last week, which kept us inside. We colored a lot. I love crayons and coloring. I have the tendency to shy away from coloring books, as a rule. I think a blank sheet of paper is a wonderful thing. But answering the questions, "What should I draw, Mama?" all coloring time is annoying too. So, I have a few coloring books. My favorite one, by far, is Taro Gomi's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Doodle-All-Year-Taro-Gomi/dp/0811860191/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1340632736&sr=8-8&keywords=taro+gomi" target="_blank">Doodle All Year.</a> In fact, this year, I decided I was going to buy myself one and one for Beezus, so we each have a book to color. And we can color the same thing.<br />
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As I was thinking about this future buying spree, I thought about how much Bea loves for me to draw her pictures to color. So, I drew some and she colored them.<br />
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I draw pictures of her brother and Bea. Beezus swinging. Beezus baking. Anything they do, I draw. With crayon. On white paper. Then hand it off, and they color them. At Lakeshore, they sell little blank books. I bought a few for Beezus, because she is really into writing books right now. I think they are 1.59 a piece, or something like that. I grabbed one last week and made a coloring book.<br />
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None of these pictures are perfect. I made a ton of mistakes drawing, but Beezus LOVED it, because it is all about her. There are something like sixteen spreads. I drew scenes from our life, things they love to do, from summer to autumn to winter.<br />
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I basically drew these while the kids were coloring. It took me a week to make the book. Obviously, I wasn't dedicating time to it. Just doing it to color with the kids. Now they have their own coloring book. As you can see, Beezus started coloring it immediately, before I took pictures. The picture pages are great too, because you can do one-offs, copy them, and pull them out anytime you need a coloring page. Kids love to color the same picture over and over again. Or you can draw them as they are coloring and ask them to invent scenes with you. That is how the cupcake one came to be.<br />
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I like Beezus' choice to make her and her brother yellow, eating green cupcakes. Yuck.<br />
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Hope this gave you some ideas. Many of my drawings are terrible, but my children just love them. Remember that. And all of my drawings are simply fatter stick drawings. Remember that too.<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-57088031203586602142012-05-17T08:29:00.001-04:002012-05-17T08:29:52.389-04:00dream catcherQuite a long time ago now, I mentioned that we made a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreamcatcher" target="_blank">dream catcher</a> for Beezus. I'm not the kind of person who ever owned a dream catcher. It's not that there is anything wrong with them, but there are certain Native American objects that new age people, I guess I include myself in that category, co-opted as part of their spirituality. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. I am a pluralist, and I believe that bringing in many spiritual practices is part of what makes American religion unique, and what works for our family. But I suppose the idea that people played at being Native American by hanging a dream catcher on a rearview mirror made me uncomfortable for a long time. Granted, I also lived in Arizona, which seems to be the place where dream catchers, turquoise, Kokopelli, and El Caminos go to die. And people come to dress up like cowboys and Indians. It is a strange place indeed.<br />
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At any rate, when Beezus began having nightmares and ending up in our bed a few months ago, I felt stumped on how to comfort her. Holding her all night was incredibly beautiful the first night. My baby still needs me. And I can give this to her. After that night, perhaps after a week, my numb arm, and bruised thighs needed a break. She needed a break. We both needed our sleep. I was plagued with nightmares and insomnia as a child. Being awake and afraid many nights is a terrible way to grow up. And I can only hold my children so long, they need to soothe themselves, and find their own path of turning their fears over to God, or the universe, or the angels, or the fairies, or whoever and whatever gives them comfort.<br />
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I did a little research for a ritual to help her manage her nightmares. I explain, which I always explain, how important sleep is to our health, how vital it is for our body to have its own space to rejuvenate. When I thought about a dream catcher, I had to stop and wonder if this is reappropriating a Native ritual for something exploitative, but I came to a place of peace. This gift of the Lakota and Ojibwe people is this sacred object. We can use it to pretend we are Lakota, which we are not going to do, or we can use it for its intended purpose--to protect our sleeping children from nightmares. We treat it with deference as a sacred object.<br />
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The Ojibwe believed that the dreamcatchers filtered out the bad dreams, allowing only good dreams in through the hole, and slide down the feather into the child's dream. The bad dreams would evaporate in the light of the next day. Another way to see it is that the bad dreams drift up and through the hole, and the net keeps the good dreams around the child. Either way, it is supposed to allow only good dreams.<br />
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I made this object from simple instructions on the internet. There are a ton of places to find how-tos. I can't quite remember where I got the one I used. First thing we did was buy an embroidery hoop. Traditionally, dream catchers are made out of willow. The intention is for them to wither as the child grows and outgrows their need for a nightmare catcher. But I thought Beezus might like one that is pink. We also bought some pink, brown and white yarn for the web. The Chippewa think you should use red yarn. My photographs suck, I'm sorry.<br />
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To tie the yarn onto the hoop, and begin weaving.<br />
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You really need to cut a length of yarn, because you cannot weave your dream catcher with the ball. It is too big. So, first you tie, then you basically go under the hoop, over the top, and through the yarn hoop you just created. Leave some slack, but not too much. Try to leave an even amount of slack in each yarn hoop. Do this all the way around the hoop, when you get back to center, link to the first row.<br />
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Then you continue until you have gotten to the center. I used the last string to hang the feather, so it would have some weight. I haven't decided if that works or not.<br />
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We cut some other lengths of string to tie beads, and a feather on it. We told the <a href="http://www.soultones.com/dream.html" target="_blank">story of the dream catcher </a>to Beezus. We also made a dream pillow with lavender and rosemary.<br />
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Anyway, here is the final dream catcher. It hangs above her bed. Beatrice claims it helps her catch her bad dreams. Now, she just comes into bed in the middle of the night because she likes to be with everyone else, she says.<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-37722783299046084042012-04-25T09:51:00.000-04:002012-04-25T09:51:53.715-04:00fishThis poor neglected blog. I have been doing some art and crafts in the last few weeks. Not quite sure why I haven't blogged about it. Well, actually, I am. I just had a ton of obligations in the last few weeks, and writing assignments and got tangled up in blue.<br />
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SO, I just finished my second blockprint of the elements. <a href="http://stilllifeeveryday.blogspot.com/2012/03/feather.html" target="_blank">First element was air</a>, represented by a gold feather, though I did some other prints of red on sheet music and stuff like that. But my idea is to do a series of the elements to be framed as a four panel piece. This is the element water.<br />
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I also printed on a blue sheet, which turned out really cool. Much cooler in person.<br />
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And the two together on block printing paper.<br />
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I printed most of these as cards, because I love using block prints for cards. I think for fire, I will do a cool lino cut of the sun. And the earth element is the hardest. Perhaps a tree? Any ideas? I also think the sun and the earth are going to be squares, rather than rectangle, so they are balanced when they are all together.<br />
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I saw one of those sign/saying things today on Facebook that said the Earth without Art is just Eh, which made me happy. So, Happy Arting!still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-11383089969570547332012-03-28T07:51:00.000-04:002012-03-28T07:51:27.203-04:00natural sodaThough I am not a fan of caramel color, diet anything, or soda, in general, I love carbonation. Aqua gaseosa, or rather acqua gassata. I drink Pellegrino every night. Sometimes with lemon. Recently, I started reminiscing about Orangina and other natural sodas I used to sometimes pick up before work. And I started creating my own natural sodas to have with dinner.<div>
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The one I have adored recently is grapefruit soda with freshly squeezed grapefruit. My kids love grapefruit, but it is a high maintenance fruit to peel for them. I can't just send them off with a grapefruit. I have to peel it, then unsheath it from its membrane, then my children will eat it out of my hand as though they are farm animals and I have corn.</div>
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Because of this, I often have slightly wrinkled grapefruit that are overly juicy and therefore not preferable to feed to the children. So I juice them. I let them build into a substantial pile, then juice them in one fail swoop, keeping it in a jar and creating sodas at night with dinner. This morning, I was creating a grapefruit-mint soda which was amazing!</div>
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Our peppermint has come up already, so I just picked some fresh peppermint from the yard, (about four springs) and used two grapefruit. I wanted to save the rest of the juice for tonight/tomorrow. Fresh juice lasts a few days. I try to use it in two to three days. If you are making one soda, you need half a grapefruit and one sprig. You can use a citrus juicer, though I used my Omega, because I wanted to juice the mint with the grapefruit. I imagine without a juicer, you can chop your mint up, muddle it on the bottom of the glass with ice, like a mint julep. And you need a bottle of fizzy, or as I call it, fuzzy water. I use Pellegrino, because I like naturally occurring carbonation. Just make sure it is not tonic water, or club soda. No sugar added. And club soda has a higher sodium content. </div>
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Anyway, juice the hell out of two grapefruit and the mint.</div>
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Fill a glass with ice.</div>
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Fill the glass about a third filled with grapefruit-mint juice.</div>
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Then to the top with Pellegrino.</div>
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You can put a sprig of mint in, though I just chugged it. It was amazing. The mint neutralizes the real tartness of the grapefruit. It is awesome.</div>
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I create different natural sodas constantly. I sometimes use berries instead of ice. One of my favorite concoctions is Orange-Mango juice, frozen berries and Pellegrino. AMAZING! (That is what is in the bottom glass!)</div>
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<br /></div>still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-7429827120667297742012-03-23T08:26:00.000-04:002012-03-23T08:26:11.123-04:00grocery bags<br />
My children don't have many chores. They are one and four, almost two and five. Their weekly chore is doing the recycling. Their daily chores are making their beds and clearing the dishes from the table. Thor needs to be supervised. He is, uh, ambitious, yes, rather excited about recycling. My husband supervised last week, and by supervise I mean of course brought the bin from outside to the inside, then walked away. After the children filled the bin, he put it back outside. Apparently, the children threw away all of our canvas bags for food shopping, a dust pan and brush, and the lid for our recycling bin.<br />
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That is soooo not the point of bringing your own canvas bags to the market. I even had produce bags in there. Four of our bags were ones that said "Yingst Family Market. Est. 2006." Our family name and the year we married. And the other three were ones that zipped into a convenient little pouch and the money they cost went to feed African children. Those were incredibly convenient too. I found one, being used for books, and a produce bag.<br />
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I used the grocery bag as a template for some new ones. I am terrible at sewing, as I am just learning the art of consistently pressure on my sewing pedal. And what all these dang stitches are for. My husband was embarrassed that he wasn't watching the children, so he said, Hey, there is a big piece of canvas in the garage. I found it a few years ago from the previous owners, I will wash it for you.<br />
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So, he did. And it was hella large. I didn't measure it, but I did use it for new bags.<br />
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There is virtually no overhead for this project. Just thread and manpower. I admit that sewing isn't particularly something I am good at. My seams are crooked, and uneven. But here were my first two. They are a little too large, I think.<br />
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I covered an ugly seam with some fabric, and made it into a courier type bag because I often ride to the farmer's market in the summer, and wanted something that wouldn't open.<br />
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Then I made some smaller ones experimenting with stitches and seams.<br />
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I was using different seam techniques, and did one with a contrasting thread, but the problem is that I cannot sew straight as a matter of course, so the contrasting thread is very very visible. Or rather, my mistakes are VERY visible. So, I hit the fabric shop yesterday and found this cool native american ribbon and sewed it on top of the crappy seam, and it looks better. Much better. Going to do it on the other one too.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Crappy seam.</i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Awesome ribbon covering crappy seam.</i></td></tr>
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I still have more than half my canvas left, so I might research how to make the ones with the zipper on them, and create a few of those. I also am going to figure out how to make produce bags, because those are damn useful.<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-59152564096332065442012-03-20T08:01:00.001-04:002012-03-20T08:47:23.245-04:00teaching meditation to children.My friend <a href="http://herewearetogether.com/" target="_blank">Miri</a> asked me to write a little more about meditating with the children and how I go about that, how I get them to sit still, what I think about meditation, wisdom I can share, how Thor does in meditation, and other ideas for meditation. Beezus is two weeks away from five and Thor is two weeks away from two, so meditating with him seems a little um, ambitious. And it is.<br />
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I have written about meditating with the kids a few times.<br />
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<a href="http://stilllifeeveryday.blogspot.com/2011/07/mindjar.html" target="_blank">mindjar</a>.<br />
<a href="http://stilllifeeveryday.blogspot.com/2011/09/talking-stick.html" target="_blank">talking stick</a>.<br />
<a href="http://stilllifeeveryday.blogspot.com/2011/10/enso-meditations-with-children.html" target="_blank">enso meditation with children.</a><br />
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I am certainly not an expert at meditating with children. I just happen to do it most days. I meditate alone and I meditate with the children. So, I am just a mama. Know that before I start this conversation. I wanted to give a few pointers for parents who think meditation is some far-out amazing thing I have accomplished with my children. It isn't and I haven't. The book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Buddhas-Teaching-Meditation-Children/dp/0740746898/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332244600&sr=1-1" target="_blank"><i>Baby Buddhas</i></a> has ten meditations to do with children and a few for parents learning meditation. And all of them are described in a simple, clear manner, and really work amazingly well for children. I have adapted some, while using others straight from the book.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>*Not a real meditation.<br />I asked her to show me how she meditates, then snapped a pic.</i></td></tr>
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I would suggest as a journal exercise (parents need homework too!) to write about what you want your children to learn and gain from meditation. It will help you clarify your intention in meditation with your children and your intention as a parent. And it helps you see how you are meeting that goal, even when everyone is crawling on you like you are a meditating jungle gym. The goal is long term. You are trying to give your child a sense of themselves and a sense of peace and compassion, joy and love.<br />
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You are also teaching your children that perfection is not the goal. There is no perfect meditation and yet, in that way, every meditation is perfect. Meditation is not measured in those terms, even though so many of us want to take a yardstick to our practice. Did I sit long enough? Did I think too much? Do I feel calmer? So, when you give your children the gift of meditation, you give them the gift of acceptance too. You give them the gift of space in their mind. Give them the gift of being right just as they are. And maybe that is a gift for yourself too.<br />
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The single best piece of advice I can give parents for meditating with children is<b> lower your expectations</b>.<br />
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Know that your children are going to stand up from meditation from time to time (my daughter never stands, my 23 month old stands after a minute.) Your two year old may even bonk his older sister on the head despite the serenity you are trying to cultivate. Or he may repeatedly drive a Hot Wheels car up your leg while you are chanting <i>Oooommmmm</i>. Know that some days your baby will sit for thirty seconds. Know that other days she may ask you ten thousand questions while you are guiding her through a meditation story. Know that a meditation technique you use one day will be ineffective the next day.<br />
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BUT that will not be the experience every minute of your meditation. And in the moments between, you are teaching your child something incredibly valuable. All I can say is allow your children to be children during meditation. Yes, you will try to refocus their attention on meditation. Yes, you should take the meditation seriously. Think joy and seriousness together. Strong but loving. But sometimes that won't work. Meditation is not the time or place where anyone should get punished, or reprimanded, or voices should be raised in any way, because the meditation isn't done "correctly". The last thing I want to create is an obligation, or sense of torture about meditation. Sitting is supposed to be a safe haven, a welcome ritual of our day, not that thing they have to do that they dread.I often say things like, "It looks like you are done with meditation, so why don't you sit back down and we will stop together by ringing the gong."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Asking little ones to ring the gong is a good way<br />to get them to associate meditation with fun.</i></td></tr>
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Pema Chodron says, "Meditation isn't really about getting rid of thoughts, it's about changing the pattern of grasping on to things, which in our everyday experience is our thoughts." When you are teaching mindfulness, you are just readjusting your mind to be aware of your thoughts and attention when they drift from being open and empty. You are teaching your child to be present, or right in the moment. That is mindfulness. To have your mind exactly where your body is. Recently, I heard someone say when you are dwelling in the past, you are living in regret and guilt and when you are dwelling in the future, you are living in anxiety. Our goal then is to live in the present, and teach our children to do that too.<br />
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When you teach your children meditation, you are giving them a coping mechanism that isn't overeating, yelling, hitting, zoning out in front of the television, drinking, suppressing their feelings or running their head into a wall. You are teaching them to sit in silence, to find a calm moment when their head is noisy. With meditation, you are teaching your children how YOU deal with stress and how to live life on life's terms. My daughter sometimes asks to meditate when she is hurt or upset, because she sees me meditate when I am hurt or upset.<br />
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So here is the second best piece of advice I can give parents for meditating with children--<b>start meditating by yourself for yourself.</b><br />
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Cultivating a meditation practice will help you deal with your kids when they are crazy. Meditation will help you deal with yourself when you are feeling crazy. I would start simply by sitting every morning and every evening for ten minutes. I find I sit more easily before coffee in the morning, when my monkey mind hasn't quite kicked in yet. And you sit, trying not to make grocery lists in your head. Try to label that, "THINKING" and refocus your mind on your breath. One minute of true clear minded meditation will help, I promise you, in feeling serenity. And then after the kids have done to sleep in the evening, because there is obviously a lack of interest in what I am doing and I can meditate without interruption. I precede meditation in the morning with a prayer, and follow it in the evening with a prayer. It is my time to sit alone and quiet my mind. Develop a conscious contact with God, or nature, or whatever it is that helps me feel protected.<br />
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If children see you meditate, they will want to meditate. If you tell them you deal with anger by meditating, that is what they learn. When you are meditating with your children, they may not breathe the way you breathe. They may not sit with their back straight. They may not close their eyes, or open them. But if they are watching you meditate, they will try to sit like you, breathe like you, be like you. Of course, this applies to every part of your life.<br />
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Here is the third piece of advice (I stopped ranking them) about meditating with children--<b>don't treat meditation as a time-out.</b><br />
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Meditation is not a punishment. And it should not be treated that way.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Mind jar works for settling upset minds.</i></td></tr>
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When you use meditation as a punishment, sitting still, quietly, becomes equated with something unpleasant, even though I think children need quiet when they are freaking out. So, this is not to say that if you child is acting out, and hitting other kids, you don't sit him somewhere away from others to calm down. Just treat it differently. Don't use the same space as meditation. Don't use the same words. Make meditation a choice for your child, so they can learn to gain control of their own mind and recognize their own need for quiet.<br />
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When one of my children is out of control, I separate them from the situation, talk to her/him, hold and kiss the baby(when little ones are most unlovable, mama's job is to love them the most), then brainstorm ideas on how to remedy the wrongs that may have occurred. Before we can find effective solutions, we need to quiet the mind and the anger. I ask my child if they want to use the mindjar before going on, rather than force them to meditate. It sounds like a subtle difference, perhaps meaningless to some people, but it is huge for children in my experience. If the child says no to meditation, respect their decision. To be honest, most of the time they choose to use the mindjar. They shake it up, and it represents the chaos in their mind, then they sit and watch the glitter settle as their thoughts settle. We sometimes have to shake more than once, and that is okay. They are calming down.<br />
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My fourth piece of advice about meditating with children is to <b>create a sacred space for meditation</b>.<br />
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My children love doing this. We try to change our altar based on the season. We have a Buddha, a Virgin of Guadalupe, symbols of each element (a bowl of water for, uh, Water, a feather and incense for Air, stones for Earth, and candles for Fire), flowers/symbols of the season, and anything else that catches our fancy. We have a gong for starting and ending meditation. Children love using bells, and it helps get them actively involved in meditation. I have recently downloaded a free app for my phone that rings a gong to start meditation and end meditation. You simply program the length of time you want to sit for. It is awesome.<br />
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The altar/meditation space we have created is in their playroom. For Christmas, I gave each member of my family their own meditation cushion, since I was the only person with one. Everyone was using a pillow. They love their own cushion with their own color. When we decide to meditate, everyone scrambles to grab their cushion and sit in a circle. We put the gong in the center of us, or if we are doing a mindfulness meditation, whatever we are focusing on.<br />
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When we used to have the altar in the front room on a table the children could reach, people often asked me how we kept that safe from little hands. And I didn't really know how to answer that. We taught them it was sacred and not to be touched. And they didn't play with the things on the altar. We now have the altar higher than reach for the children, which is nice for lighting candles and incense.<br />
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My fifth piece of advice about meditating with children is<b> teach them that anything can be a meditation if you are practicing mindfulness</b>.<br />
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This seems contrary to what I am saying earlier. You create a sacred space. You ask them if they want to meditate. But practicing mindfulness means to be paying attention to the present moment without judgement. It doesn't mean that you do dishes then say, "I was meditating back then." You make it a conscious choice about the activity and mindfulness. That is the point of mindfulness. It is about being conscious about where you are, how your breath moves your body, what is going on right now, right where you are.<br />
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We sometimes do mindfulness meditations about an object. We try to shed all our judgement about what it is, and just look at it. For example, we might put a picture frame in the center of our circle. We don't talk about whether it is holding a pretty picture, or what it used to hold, or what it will hold, or if it itself is pretty, but rather that it is rectangular, black, white, scratched, heavy. We talk about it objectively.<br />
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When we take mindfulness meditation walks, we stop and smell the air. We listen to the birds. We take the time to just be present right where we are. We sometimes do these as kinds of gratitude walks. We thank the trees for giving us shade. Or whatever we notice right then right where we are. We also do meditation painting sessions and paint ensos. Not worrying about whether they are perfect, for it is in their imperfection that we find some kind of sacred truth.<br />
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I hope this helped a little. I am open to taking questions. Again, I am not an expert, but I have thought about this a lot, written about it and use meditation in my daily life as a mama and a lady. I am happy to answer whatever you would like to know about meditating with children. Thank you.still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-72397088651789795372012-03-19T08:59:00.003-04:002012-03-19T08:59:42.878-04:00chalkboard jar labelsI have been blending herbs for my own herbal teas at night. I used to do this quite frequently when I lived in Tucson and belonged to a co-op with an amazing herb selection, or even being able to go out and gather. Recently, I found a wonderful on-line shop for herbs. Storing them in mason jars makes my heart happy. But labeling them was kind of a pain. So I bought some chalkboard paint.<br />
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I painted streaks across each jar. This chalkboard paint was in the clearance bin at Michaels for $2.99, but I have recently seen a few recipes for homemade chalkboard paint on Pinterest.<br />
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I let it dry overnight, then eh, voila!<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-37579657249896248262012-03-13T13:44:00.001-04:002012-03-13T13:44:43.645-04:00tinted lip balm.A few weeks ago, I found a recipe to make your own tinted lip balm. I added it to my recipe on making your own solid perfume. Both of which required beeswax.<br />
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I finally got around to ordering some beeswax from Mountain Rose Herbs, and some alkanet, the natural dye for the lip balm, and today, I made some tinted lip balm.<br />
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The recipe is really simple:<br />
2 Tablespoons of coconut oil<br />
1 Tablespoon of sweet almond oil<br />
1 Tablespoon of beeswax<br />
1 Tablespoon of vitamin e oil<br />
.5 teaspoon of essential oil (I used sweet orange)<br />
1-2 teaspoon of alkanet root powder.<br />
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The alkanet came to me in a root form, even though I ordered the powder. (Booo!) I did try to make the powder in my blender, but had a lot of solids left, which was fine. I don't mind having some solid bits in my lip balm.<br />
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You create a kind of double boiler effect by getting a jar for melting. Use glass, obviously. Then put it in a small saucepan over a low heat. Gently melt the coconut oil, the almond oil and the beeswax. Stir well with straw or wooden stick. Remove from heat when ALL the solids are liquids.<br />
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You then add the alkanet, vitamin e oil and essential oil to the melted mixture. Stir. Then pour into the containers. You can use old altoids tins. I bought some little lip balm tins. They were seventy cents a piece.<br />
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The back one is a solid perfume. Essentially, the same process except it is just beeswax and sweet almond oil melted. (Use 1 TB each), and about 20 drops of essential oils, in whatever combination you would like. This one is sweet orange and basil. Melt the solids, and add the oil. Pour and let set. About a half an hour, and you have a solid perfume. You can also spray about twenty pumps of your favorite perfume into the beeswax and almond oil mixture.still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-33292431176775784532012-03-10T06:47:00.001-05:002012-03-10T06:47:53.109-05:00jewelry holderAt the same time that we reinvented the guest room as a playroom, we decided to reorganize the bathroom. That might seems strange, but we have this rather large chest of drawers that comes from Sam's family, and I was thinking it might be a more effective way to house our linens, towels and other goodies than the mixture of small, ineffective, slatted shelving unit and a small, ineffective shelving unit with drawer. We moved those out, but in doing so, we had to throw out, reevaluate each item. I actually love doing this, so you know...once everything was out, it looked strange, like we had a chest of drawers and had no idea what to do with it, so we stuck it in the bathroom.<br />
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We still don't know what to do with that chest of drawers, incidentally. It is sitting in our dining room. Yay.<br />
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During my organizing, I had a pile of jewelry, and honestly, I have a jewelry organizing station upstairs in my closet, but I use the downstairs all day, and usually want to put my finishing touches on there. I hit our cluttered and treasure-rich basement.<br />
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My eyes fell on an old dry erase board we used to use in our kitchen. Sam, unfortunately, wrote on it with Sharpie. Yeah. I used a glue gun and covered the board itself with scraps of linen. Then I screwed hooks into the frame on one side. On the other side, I ripped off a piece of old screen and stapled it to the frame.<br />
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And I had a jewelry holder.<br />
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I like that there is a pen lip on this. I can rest those pieces that can't hang. We also took out one of the shelves, the slatted one, because ay, I found so many things under that damnable piece. That shelf is going to the front porch growing area I am beginning in the next few weeks. (When the carpenter leaves our home.) It definitely gives the space more space. I replaced the art with two pieces by Jen Singer called Good Manners, they say, "No, thank you." And "Yes, please." And then one of those subway art pieces about manners. I actually bought all these good manners pieces and had no idea where I was going to hang them, which was a little silly. But I like the way it turned out, for not changing very much.<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-2901092781976096912012-03-06T14:37:00.001-05:002012-03-06T16:20:48.263-05:00feather<div>I've been rediscovering my love of linoleum block printing. I've been fascinated with feathers as well. And so I thought I might do a feather carving. <div>
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I drew a very basic feather, anPd then texturized it while carving the block.</div>
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My initial idea was to use the feather for a tea towel. I printed it and it looked like poo. Here I'll show you. It literally looked like poo. Smeared poo.</div>
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For that project, I grabbed a piece of fabric, and covered the now set block print. I liked the way it turned out.</div>
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For the feather print, I printed off some on watercolor card stock in gold for sending to friends.</div>
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I really dug this triple print I did. Experimenting with the printing aspect of it.</div>
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Today, I dug out a total score from the ReStore, which is sheet music. (Pun intended.) 10 cents a booklet. It felt kind of sacrilegious to make art our of sheet music, but then I thought it was ten cent paper, and it is art. Make it better. </div>
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Not sure I succeeded in the better part, but I did do some enso meditation paintings.</div>
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After meditating and painting, I thought I might print some more pieces. I did some red feather prints.</div>
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I might give that to my cousin, who I call Primo. Rather, I call him Mopri (primo flipped.)</div>
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I love the feather print, and my sister gave me the idea to do a series of four, each one a symbol of an element. I have sketched out a fish for water. A tree for earth. I am still worried about the fire, but we will see.</div>
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<br /></div>still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-19180414150933550692012-03-05T14:06:00.000-05:002012-03-05T14:06:09.988-05:00playroomThe reason I haven't been posting on this blog is because I have been crafting, redecorating, and creating around the ranch. I don't really have a ranch. I live in a small town in New Jersey, but you know...<br />
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Last weekend, my husband and I decided to break our guest room down and turn it into a playroom for the kids. They share a room, and all their toys, clothes and crap was shoved into the smallest room in the house. We have guests maybe once every two months, so we just pulled the trigger. We also decided to break down part of the studio and create a sewing space for me, since I just bought a sewing machine. (And am learning little projects here and there.) My baker's racks in the studio then went on the front porch, as well as a useless shelving unit from the bathroom, and that is being turned into an indoor garden area. All in all, it had meant our house is in flux. <br />
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I stupidly did not take pictures of the guest room filled, but I did after we emptied the room. So, this is before from the door (left) and the after (right)<br />
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We moved a ReStore (ReStore is the Habitat for Humanity thrift shop.) We had too much furniture in the living room. We moved in a bookshelf from the kids room. Hung some maps and hung the letters Beezus is making in pre-K with items that start with that letter (B is made of Beans, for example.)</div>
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Before diagonally across from the door:</div>
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After:<br />
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This is the right corner. We added a table, the day of the <a href="http://stilllifeeveryday.blogspot.com/2011/08/day-of-week-and-weather.html" target="_blank">week/weather board</a>. They have a little table and chairs, our button heart, and a gnome growth chart. The closet is filled with costumes and adult games.<br />
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All in all, I cannot believe we lived without a playroom for so long. It feels absolutely natural to have this space here. A whole room is valuable real estate, and we need it for the kids. It also means their room is so much less cluttered and less chaotic.<br />
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So grateful for this project. We also have a dedicated area for meditation now. And we have been group meditating every day since we rearranged the space. I have quite a few projects in the pipeline to share this week, so you might be hearing from me a lot.still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-3599053278474773592012-02-28T13:59:00.000-05:002012-02-28T13:59:05.433-05:00koi kiteWe are having work done on the house this week, so I am trying to keep the kids occupied. The carpenter is lovely and very patient. Still, searching my bookmarks for crafts that might be fun. This morning we went to the aquarium to watch the hippos and sharks be fed, then we came home. One hour killed.<br />
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This craft I archived a while ago, and thought it might be perfect with these little squares of tissue paper I bought a few months ago. I kind of remember mentioning it, but can't find the post.<br />
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We use quite a bit of tissue paper, but when you buy larger sheets, then you are stuck to the colors, and cutting and all that crappizzle. So, I saw this at Lakeshore Learning Store, and on a whim I bought it.<br />
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It is awesome. When the kids are in my hair, I give them cardstock and glue and they go to town. This project, though, calls for half circle cut tissue paper. Yeah, I didn't cut these, I used them as it. This project is called Koi Nobori Kite, or Japanese Carp Kite. It was super easy, fun, and looks very cool. You start with construction paper. The craft directions are 11"x17", but we used a normal size paper. I think it turned out cool. Beatrice wanted an orange fish and Thomas wanted a blue one. I poured some glue onto a paper plate, and they painted on glue. You layer tissue paper like scales.<br />
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Bea didn't want to layer like bricks, so hers are all over the place. It still looks rocking cool. Then we cut a piece of black construction paper to make a head. (Scales on the body) And she cut two circle eyes. We glued all of that on. </div>
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Now the streamers. We grabbed some spare crepe paper from the basement and cut long pieces, flipped the paper around and Beatrice glued them on the bottom of the paper.<br />
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We then stapled the fish into a circle and attached a string like a kite.<br />
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And Ta-da!<br />
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We hung it in our new playroom. (So long, guests. You are SOL! We have a need to play!)<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-31218410904316993522012-02-25T08:10:00.002-05:002012-02-25T08:10:25.993-05:00reStore scoresI love the reStore. Sam and I are constantly visiting to try to find cool furniture for the house. Pieces I can turn into art. I am always looking for a few metal tables for my gardening space and/or art studio. This week, before we came down with the stomach flu, we hit the reStore, and I bought a bag full of awesome for a little over five bucks. I began vomiting in the afternoon and didn't unpack the bag, so this morning, when I began feeling a bit better, I unpacked it.<br />
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What I bought for five bucks and forty cents:<br />
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These are little handthrown pottery bowls about the perfect size for water dipping, making a watercolor wash, glitter, storing little things and the larger one is good for holding pencils. Each of the little ones cost me fifty cents and the larger one fifty cents. So in total, two bucks<br />
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These reminded me of my grandmother. One Virgin Mary and one Jesus round placard. The back is wood, the front is blue mirror and metal. I have a thing for sacred hearts. There is no surprise there, right? The Jesus one reads, "I will bless everyplace where a picture of my heart shall be exposed and honored." Hells yes! And the Mary one reads, "Immaculate Heart of Mary Pray for us who have recourse to thee." I love Catholic art. Lately, this is exactly the kind of art I am drawn too. Anyway, I loved these. One buck each. They are going in my studio for inspiration.<br />
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Two hand painted black metal trays with roses on them. I felt like these must be old, but I have no way to prove that claim. Always looking for trays. Fifty cents each.<br />
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One brown bottle for 40 cents. $5.40.<br />
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What kind of things are you finding at the thrift shop these days? Please say it doesn't involve sad clowns.<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-90086031955668114532012-02-21T20:58:00.001-05:002012-02-21T21:02:40.416-05:00heart labyrinthSince I started this blog, I think I have only ever really done <a href="http://stilllifeeveryday.blogspot.com/2010/10/101110.html" target="_blank">one linoleum block print</a> for a Day of the Dead swap. I just paint more and do other crafting. But block printing, like stamp cutting, is something that is easy, versatile and fun. So, I thought I would show you the process with this project I did today.<br />
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For some background on this project, I was invited to a baby shower/blessingway for a friend of mine and received this in the mail.<br />
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The instructions were that each person coming to the baby shower would create a prayer flag, which would be strung together to help my friend during labor and birthing. Traditionally, Tibetan prayer flags are hung outside with prayers that are carried on the wind to God, or the gods, or the universe. Prayers for peace and the end of suffering. The flag is supposed to wear away, remain open to the elements, meaning your prayer would be answered when the flag is gone. For this blessingway, the idea is to write a prayer, positive message, and/or a loving powerful image for the pregnant woman to use as strength and love for birth. Each person does one to surround her with love and positive images. I loved the idea and immediately began thinking about what to do for her.<br />
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I've been thinking about labyrinths a great deal lately. I wrote about it on my other blog recently. In a birthing class I took while pregnant with Beezus, we drew labyrinths as a kind of power image to use during birth. Labor is like a labyrinth, we were told. You go in and though it is a long, winding, seemingly arduous path, you always find a way to the center and back out again. Though it seems to be a maze, you aren't tricked, there is no cleverness, you will get to the end.<br />
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I decided to do a labyrinth for my prayer flag. I am really drawn to the Native American labyrinth pattern, which has a more organic and less geometric look to it. Labyrinths are in cultures all over the world, so there are many different designs.<br />
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I drew this. Then I decided, as I was turning it around and around that it might look cool as a block print. And then as I was staring at it and thinking it looked like a brain, I thought I might transform it into a heart-shaped labyrinth, since labor is an arduous journey of love.<br />
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Creating a linoleum block print is really easy, but does require some equipment. All very reasonably priced and long lasting, so a little investment for a long pay-off. If you are so inclined. Linoleum block printing is one way to make a print. I did watch a Martha Stewart one morning where she did a print on a potato, then stamped it in fabric paint and made cool onesies. So, once you buy the stamp/block cutting tools, you can basically carve anything. I choose linoleum because it lasts a hell of a lot longer than a potato and I can make multiple prints, wash the linoleum in water, and use another color.<br />
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First thing to know is that printing is a reverse process, so if you are doing letters, mirror flip them. I drew my design right on my block. First in watercolor pencil, so I could erase with water, then I went over it in sharpie.<br />
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The drawing is the guideline. I am going to take the linoleum off the entire block EXCEPT my design. I am making a stamp, basically. This one is 8.5" x 5". My husband used a table saw to trim my block (later in the process). You can buy the tools to remove the linoleum at Michael's or AC Moore, both of which have printing materials, including blocks and ink and all the equipment. Speedball makes a cheap, totally fine, lino block tool set for ten bucks. Blocks vary in price, but are about five to ten bucks a piece. Again, you can cut them to suit your needs.<br />
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The block cutting tools I use are made my Speedball. And have different sizes of blade, which are stored in the handle. They are hella sharp, and I have cut myself a number of times. Practice before doing an intricate design. It isn't terribly difficult, but it does take a certain understanding of how much pressure and counter pressure to use and where to put your other hand. I have slipped, especially early on and skidded across my block and into my hand. It wasn't pleasant. Some people use a vice, but I like to move my block around.<br />
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I always start by creating the edge of my print first. Then the long, large areas.I do that for a number of reasons. One is that if I do slip and skid across my project, you usually stop at a gutter. Usually. Not always, but usually. I generally leave a huge field to cut around my project only so I can reorient myself to cutting the linoleum before I get into my design. Many people trim all block but the design. That is a good way to do it.<br />
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This is a very meditative process. Cutting and drinking coffee/tea. Cutting and drinking coffee. I also listen to music I can sing to.<br />
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After finishing the entire surrounding area, I hunker down for the intricate design of the inside heart. I am cutting out everything but the black marker.<br />
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This part is the difficult part. It takes patience, rather. It isn't difficult, but it is easy to slip and cut straight through the rest of your design, which would be bad. No repairing the gone linoleum. Here is my design, you can see the linoleum bits in a pile behind the block. As you can see, by this cross section above, linoleum block is a wood block with a relatively thin piece of linoleum on top. You can buy just the linoleum. And if you are so inclined, you can do this same exact thing on wood. Wood does come off differently because of grain and nooks and crannies, so it takes a lot more skill than I possess. Linoleum doesn't seem thin when you are carving, but then you hit wood here and there, and it feels thin. Pressure is important. Deep cuts will absorb less ink. Shallow cuts will pool your ink and make your print look muddy. But it is a way to create shadowing and detail by playing with cutting depth. This project was very straightforward for what was cut and what wasn't.<br />
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Next step is to ink the bad boy. I use block printing ink for block printing. It seems like a no-brainer, but I have tried paint. It doesn't work. This is water soluble, and comes off easily. That is why I choose it. I think a brayer is an essential piece of equipment in an artist studio. It is so immensely useful for creating texture, background, printmaking, and all kinds of stuff. I use mine often. Very often. I used this little sushi dish to spread ink today, but usually I use a butcher pan I inherited from my step father. After spreading the ink evenly over your brayer, you then ink your block print. Try to roll evenly and do a number of rolls to cover all the parts of your design. This is why cutting depth is so important. As you can see in my picture, all the parts that are red are ink, so in the field, there is some reds. That is the high points of my cuts. I like that look. It gives a cool design element. Block prints want some of that, but too much and it looks sloppy.<br />
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The difference in stamp making and print making is that you move the stamp and with block printing, you move the paper. There are machine to help you print, but I use me. I am La Machina. But it takes a steady, delicate, yet strong touch. After inking, you place the paper on top. It is important to make sure you know where you want the image on your paper first, line it up, and lay it evenly. You cannot drag your paper into place after you lay it on top of the block, obviously, or paint will drag across your paper. Also resist the urge to jiggle it into place. Just place it and step away. Now grab your barren.<br />
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That is the barren, the thing on top of the white paper. It helps give you a nice even pressure on your design. When you use your fingers, you can easily press your paper into the crannies of your design, giving it ink where ink ain't supposed to be. Each print will be different. There is no helping it. Now, when you lift your paper, lift is straight up. Don't drag. Don't touch. Don't pull it. I actually pull at opposite corners in.<br />
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Practicing with the print, I made these cards. While I like the design, the red ink makes it look a little placental, which is just not my style. So I tried mixing blue, green, yellow, and silver inks to create a cool new color of teal-ish sparkly goodness.<br />
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This is how it turned out on the prayer flag.<br />
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And this is the shitload of prints I did tonight on different papers, like origami paper, cardstock, watercolor paper, marker paper and just plain old colored stock.<br />
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Hope you liked this tutorial, and if you think the design is too weird, tell me. I have a few weeks before the shower!<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-88618947535688452312012-02-17T06:48:00.000-05:002012-02-17T06:48:00.341-05:00the-immensely-useful-but-not-particularly-crafty fire starterYeah, so last year, we installed a wood stove and use that as the only source of heating in our home. We did it to begin the arduous process of trying to be more sustainable with immediate goal of saving money on gas heat, the shorter-yet-still-a-long-ways-in-the-future term goal of being off the grid, and a much longer term goal of surviving the apocalypse. It stays a cool 64 degrees in here. It would seem like I would mind this, considering I can never catch a warm, but actually, I think I run a little cooler than the average dude. We are a tough lot. Kind of like polar bears. Perhaps growling, very tough and nasty arctic wolves. We howl and bite each other in the neck for attention.<br />
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At night, the ice weasels come.<br />
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Last year, we had to buy a few cords of wood, but this year, my husband has foraged for our entire winter's wood. Yes, something like five cords of wood, my husband has knocked on people's doors and asked for their logs, then hauled them off, then split them, then stacked them to dry and cure, then burned them. I was very proud of him. I did virtually nothing for this venture, and it has saved us a shitload on money. Our average gas and electric bill before the woodstove was something in the range of 300-400 bucks. And now, we barely break 100, and since wood is free, we are doing pretty well.<br />
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My problem is the starting of the fire when there is no coal bed. Which rarely happens these February days. But the other day, we went to the <a href="http://www.habitat.org/restores/" target="_blank">ReStore</a>*, and I bought <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/178807047675308002/" target="_blank">this cool Mason jar bird feeder</a>. It came wrapped in newspaper. I rarely have newspaper in the house. I made a craft with it. And then I just stacked it in the office, and it occurred to me that I should use it for the fire. I remembered <a href="http://pinterest.com/pin/178807047675308002/" target="_blank">seeing something like this</a> on a certain site I am not naming. I still have herbs in my garden. Well, they are drying, I suppose you could say. Rosemary. Lavender. And I had an old smudging cedar and sage bundle. So, I dug them out and created some fire starters that smell like heaven.<br />
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This is an easy one and it made a nice surprise gift for the husband. The kids loved helping with this craft. All you need are some dried herbs, pine cones, sticks, sage, cedar. I used rosemary, sage and cedar. You cut some square pieces of newspaper.<br />
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Then, you put some herbs in the middle, the sticks. Whatever. This totally looks like a doobie. Not that I know anything about that.<br />
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We used a large piece of paper to house the herbs as we were filling the smaller ones. The kids had a lot of fun breaking up the herbs, then smelling the packages.<br />
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Then you roll them. I tied them with sock yarn, which I use for everything. I have had one skein of sock yarn for four years, since I actually do not knit socks. But I use sock yarn for tassels, tying bundles, finishing projects, bookmarks. Well, anything you use regular string for, obviously. It is just prettier.<br />
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And basically, that is it. You can then hide it under some logs and kindling and start a gigantic blazing fire, and it smells good while you are doing it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRyWtgslwJgoXMYXzM7UF4HvyDfPhhOSFstqvT8i1QLE7JF41E1LOLcbKA5ug312ac3DqD_qCCdgLkb377wrP9c0ubuAmp3H5cerue-_8r3wW3TaMWLj7EKMzZzJ1YuVGF2aTI0Nhz6aE/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsRyWtgslwJgoXMYXzM7UF4HvyDfPhhOSFstqvT8i1QLE7JF41E1LOLcbKA5ug312ac3DqD_qCCdgLkb377wrP9c0ubuAmp3H5cerue-_8r3wW3TaMWLj7EKMzZzJ1YuVGF2aTI0Nhz6aE/s400/015.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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We put them in the kindling box. Just an idea for spare newspaper and herbs. Happy Wintering!<br />
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*which is the best place in the entire world.still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-92022734298616854732012-02-16T07:24:00.000-05:002012-02-16T07:24:20.786-05:00Yarn-wrapped vases<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHuyPO6IkqjM7iVWMvJH6JASEJR8NRROokLD8zLi-puh3hD3Ntx2FzXk3mqlW3dnsN3FC9MS3VqN0OK1stLlDbKppQEsGd2MyUxx0PTQ9DhTI80qnyQiBD72FWvOoNO3e6CdTpOcW8QU/s1600/DSC_0039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlHuyPO6IkqjM7iVWMvJH6JASEJR8NRROokLD8zLi-puh3hD3Ntx2FzXk3mqlW3dnsN3FC9MS3VqN0OK1stLlDbKppQEsGd2MyUxx0PTQ9DhTI80qnyQiBD72FWvOoNO3e6CdTpOcW8QU/s320/DSC_0039.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>"So I totally saw this on Pinterest and had to make them." Yes, it's become my catch phrase. But I totally <i>did </i>see them on Pinterest and I totally <i>did</i> have to make them. So easy and really this doesn't need much of a tutorial. You will need to gather these supplies...yarn, tacky glue or any glue, really, that dries clear, mod podge, fine, you get it...empty, clean jars, cans, whathaveyou. Paintbrush and something to put the glue into. Scissors. Put something down to work on so you don't get glue on EVERYTHING YOU OWN! Or you could have fugly formica like me and not give a crap.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbcKUDxZtMZ140kgOZ75-dQtaTecTsWBT5zDzic1aK8FW-yo6Xnm7wqMZsIBkUtDE9jGMP1hzV281Y1Cr1y9q00fZK0wD7cHFq4dl_lxjI7mC_li7pzWALlacmAKfly5635Ss75Mwltc/s1600/DSC_0025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjbcKUDxZtMZ140kgOZ75-dQtaTecTsWBT5zDzic1aK8FW-yo6Xnm7wqMZsIBkUtDE9jGMP1hzV281Y1Cr1y9q00fZK0wD7cHFq4dl_lxjI7mC_li7pzWALlacmAKfly5635Ss75Mwltc/s320/DSC_0025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Start painting the glue onto the jar or can. If you are using a jar or bottle with a lid, and want to use the lid (maybe you are going to use this yarn-covered jar for storing herbs or buttons or whatever), do not put yarn on the threaded neck of the jar. And you will want to paint the lid to compliment the color of your yarn.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1eKR1BGsYMY-YoCyzdTjsFS_BpT2MGoG8uNd9hru84wQ9-FZawK0Dhhhs50MTgT7TxhnvzlS4RJIlS6UoZkGnBpgISndenj0rv5RgL_TUmXMwblzjtyEWanpD8NKI8utmSRzqfDSJTX8/s1600/DSC_0026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1eKR1BGsYMY-YoCyzdTjsFS_BpT2MGoG8uNd9hru84wQ9-FZawK0Dhhhs50MTgT7TxhnvzlS4RJIlS6UoZkGnBpgISndenj0rv5RgL_TUmXMwblzjtyEWanpD8NKI8utmSRzqfDSJTX8/s320/DSC_0026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I didn't even take the labels off. Deal with that. I knew I wanted to use these for vases so I put glue on the threaded part. Now start wrapping your yarn around the jar. Keep your beginning yarn end down and start wrapping it under the yarn wrap. I did this in sections so my hands didn't get all glue-y, except they still do. Wrap the yarn so you can't see any of the jar. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsNeYdPZa7u6S0Q6uMMs2BrOIGeX5y9rkZxLQgCwEokJEUTXtL6xHownaTtDfZMywOULA0k0lrDHIowlbho_k32tLPemQEs9fL_N0SwYzBw-5lP_iKQjoIIxzAt_0ZjGIu5cYXCk3DZ8/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghsNeYdPZa7u6S0Q6uMMs2BrOIGeX5y9rkZxLQgCwEokJEUTXtL6xHownaTtDfZMywOULA0k0lrDHIowlbho_k32tLPemQEs9fL_N0SwYzBw-5lP_iKQjoIIxzAt_0ZjGIu5cYXCk3DZ8/s320/DSC_0027.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Keep doing this until you get to the bottom and add a little glue to the end of your yarn. Then you will become obsessed with doing this and make many, many yarn-wrapped jars. I put flowers in it, then I put a candle in the other, then I put them downstairs and then upstairs. And now I am making more. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wgFD5afI6nTKsNzRnUXkYRWs76UitYu-5K6k93z-A55UoDvAjTD4Ip1oQfCkVK8K240OC1WWtw0wlupsKRH1qu6s2zaB_cgGFfMCuuTx2DiU1jQrtbmi2Fwj_NP24NAXEAlz0QBKjLM/s1600/DSC_0034.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7wgFD5afI6nTKsNzRnUXkYRWs76UitYu-5K6k93z-A55UoDvAjTD4Ip1oQfCkVK8K240OC1WWtw0wlupsKRH1qu6s2zaB_cgGFfMCuuTx2DiU1jQrtbmi2Fwj_NP24NAXEAlz0QBKjLM/s320/DSC_0034.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Someday, I'll be a button flower."</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Sweetie Pumpkin Kittyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02506823537241210250noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5703280141727235797.post-43566794536962876602012-02-13T15:21:00.000-05:002012-02-13T15:21:01.561-05:00creating stickers/transparent imagesWell, this weekend, after doing the <a href="http://stilllifeeveryday.blogspot.com/2012/02/canvas-transfer.html" target="_blank">canvas image transfer</a>, I was reminded how much fun, how easy, and how cool it is to make transparent stickers from magazine pictures. It is not exactly the same process, but it has some similar elements. Also, you need very little in the way of supplies or art equipment.<br />
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Once you have the transparent image, you can then transform them into stickers or use them in mixed media work. I wanted to show you how I created a meditation piece for my art studio out of one issue of <a href="http://www.tricycle.com/" target="_blank">Tricycle</a>.<br />
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First, find a cool image to transfer, from a magazine or newspaper. This process only really works well with magazines/newspaper print. Inkjet printers are water soluble and you are going to be submerging this in water. You are basically transferring the ink to a piece of plastic, so you need to have a kind of substance behind the ink. I wanted to do a meditation piece for my studio, because I often do tonglen meditation and paint. But like all meditation, my mind wanders, and I think about groceries or people I love. So, I wanted to hang something front and center to remind me to focus.<br />
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I used this issue:<br />
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I ripped out pages with images that interested me. I like how this x-ray of the Buddha looks exactly like that small Buddha on another story. I cut and used both of those. I also dug the picture of Darwin.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLzOvNirE6Z-xlXftILD6__EyjsdiT4V4FZKhP37k4HPpBE05_l-DyHtaGrTi5S5mZa0DBKR4jBnp3P3SYEMq7EP2BnGnZoLASs31uqjEHwxeWnOg2wINOtF__aSOmU88jaaDkK-KnHNC/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQLzOvNirE6Z-xlXftILD6__EyjsdiT4V4FZKhP37k4HPpBE05_l-DyHtaGrTi5S5mZa0DBKR4jBnp3P3SYEMq7EP2BnGnZoLASs31uqjEHwxeWnOg2wINOtF__aSOmU88jaaDkK-KnHNC/s400/035.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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First you cut out the image that you want to use.<br />
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Next use some packing tape. The transparent type. You pull out enough to cover your image.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qmkeVF1VSpCsMbpqETTDt26TeoBGswJ9mh_e0yuhwit5Oa40N0CU7rr_9An9uxRUXh0hREB_ClOpNd1hRf9he2PJzjSDJ831-JPWV1GDgz_fOyWw9D7fJFFXhAOg8o4HSuRAtOUANtWT/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3qmkeVF1VSpCsMbpqETTDt26TeoBGswJ9mh_e0yuhwit5Oa40N0CU7rr_9An9uxRUXh0hREB_ClOpNd1hRf9he2PJzjSDJ831-JPWV1GDgz_fOyWw9D7fJFFXhAOg8o4HSuRAtOUANtWT/s400/042.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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Put your image face down onto your tape. You can use a burnishing tool, or anything really, so get it all up in the sticky of the tape.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDeGmcP8UScgEQXdV8mmIpcxdjAG9_ULL2m5i5znTTL9Pa8CJs0AB3cmWJnLLA4UzX5aiw4C95Tnkf-4w5ydGLRV9j5dSQVrjVD5LVhaqQu2AzM6t10ZwlkkWvJWmDRr424xvFxIcZ_eC/s1600/045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDeGmcP8UScgEQXdV8mmIpcxdjAG9_ULL2m5i5znTTL9Pa8CJs0AB3cmWJnLLA4UzX5aiw4C95Tnkf-4w5ydGLRV9j5dSQVrjVD5LVhaqQu2AzM6t10ZwlkkWvJWmDRr424xvFxIcZ_eC/s400/045.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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After I did this, I decided I just wanted the Buddha head, so I cut the rest of it out.<br />
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Then you submerge the entire thing in water. Just dunk it in there. Swoosh it around. Obviously, bigger pictures need bigger vessels. Or patience.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKMVMeWn8ZawsLD0exphqumZPH9pdZvHby15TvgJ42XHKlOr1XPfc9wx5SmXyGR13zd-ek6rhuZXcISmJYBQaLCtqREUXTKS0uPfUO3bnzs5_Gi_ixbSoic_u79jzGLyT7-en36jHEVFf/s1600/049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKMVMeWn8ZawsLD0exphqumZPH9pdZvHby15TvgJ42XHKlOr1XPfc9wx5SmXyGR13zd-ek6rhuZXcISmJYBQaLCtqREUXTKS0uPfUO3bnzs5_Gi_ixbSoic_u79jzGLyT7-en36jHEVFf/s400/049.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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You can keep it submerged for a few minutes. Then you rub the paper off the back.<br />
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Or peel, if the paper is willing.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipydc7wO0V9FNSmGdJmUVy-tv7EDnr2wMO07DbDnUjGanyr_c4BQylPQT0U5r72ttnVD5qH4dhaha5_JxLFUjm_pp3t0C8jXUzYbhCQ8BvH9EVI8YHFn00Ve1XH7-8TzO9ttQW7CdF-v8e/s1600/051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipydc7wO0V9FNSmGdJmUVy-tv7EDnr2wMO07DbDnUjGanyr_c4BQylPQT0U5r72ttnVD5qH4dhaha5_JxLFUjm_pp3t0C8jXUzYbhCQ8BvH9EVI8YHFn00Ve1XH7-8TzO9ttQW7CdF-v8e/s400/051.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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And then, you have a transparent picture.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUy7Eg1xz0BT73PfhzYXWPtHNShpMmDyW-CyD__w-GhtTK9QVGSQlbbGL4lMRbK0exnX3_ZRZWjxo3mjZIdQx6VgqtbBBIe2_0QwN3wv44TjE9dhQzFEZ3B6zDLuHe2jUn_Bbrh6V43z4/s1600/052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfUy7Eg1xz0BT73PfhzYXWPtHNShpMmDyW-CyD__w-GhtTK9QVGSQlbbGL4lMRbK0exnX3_ZRZWjxo3mjZIdQx6VgqtbBBIe2_0QwN3wv44TjE9dhQzFEZ3B6zDLuHe2jUn_Bbrh6V43z4/s400/052.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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You can add glue on the back to stick it anywhere.<br />
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I also used that x-ray Buddha picture. For this one, I used two pieces of tape, because I wanted to split the image in two. To do that, it take lining up the tape, so they don't touch. I could have also made one large transfer by overlapping the tape. This is before the water submersion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BWPmcxaPqQU9fIZUbOFqnnUS8LTo0zmF4EfboyeA0acR-5idy7VQkewIIpQKU-5CMY6zlHS9EJ_xDM-Or44E_S6DdvkTQ2LPVgmTCr3PZ2da7gu2f8d5cq9c11G5hCGM05pni67FsUo2/s1600/056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9BWPmcxaPqQU9fIZUbOFqnnUS8LTo0zmF4EfboyeA0acR-5idy7VQkewIIpQKU-5CMY6zlHS9EJ_xDM-Or44E_S6DdvkTQ2LPVgmTCr3PZ2da7gu2f8d5cq9c11G5hCGM05pni67FsUo2/s400/056.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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This is after. I put it on paper towel, so you can see the transparency. I like how the dark ink areas get a little worn away. It gives it a really cool effect of antiquing or something.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAC0TOhg_Z7p5gcTzc00Y2E2T6553NchbkcKyGFihAq8atJZyismrJfBtR_mV37mDTTdlSIylTjWgieTjPsAD3-GxwChziaxahxMWfpdGBtpdQvfgoo_gMjCZ3-tGalrIKgwV_AKhbQRIf/s1600/061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAC0TOhg_Z7p5gcTzc00Y2E2T6553NchbkcKyGFihAq8atJZyismrJfBtR_mV37mDTTdlSIylTjWgieTjPsAD3-GxwChziaxahxMWfpdGBtpdQvfgoo_gMjCZ3-tGalrIKgwV_AKhbQRIf/s400/061.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here is the final meditation piece I created. I used canvas paper. The base layer is a red/purple/white acrylic combination. Broad strokes. I did want the piece to be vertical. Then I used gold acrylic on a brayer, or an ink roller for print making. Just a few dabs directly on the brayer and then on the canvas. In the same issue, I found a shot of six Japanese calligraphy brushes made out of human hair. I made a transfer on that too. I then found a headline that read "focusing". I just cut out the focus. I used the x-ray Buddha head to head, but it makes it look like one of those optical illusions. Is it a woman, or two vases? I just don't know. After the brayer, I covered the canvas in gel medium, and just fiddled with the placement of these pieces. I love the way it turned out. Art makes me happy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d5YAubkJ3QWzWBFMWK1wGYFJE4rBQPP-KC6nXfGyGlwBQjz33LHK8F34m4_jquH1sgGj6h7tAuxlHipQZRS1gyP_0XhiTADX7nS_ISPC-uZfVQnXssIEVo47IffbOpXb_Fa5Yli2cEoJ/s1600/074.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8d5YAubkJ3QWzWBFMWK1wGYFJE4rBQPP-KC6nXfGyGlwBQjz33LHK8F34m4_jquH1sgGj6h7tAuxlHipQZRS1gyP_0XhiTADX7nS_ISPC-uZfVQnXssIEVo47IffbOpXb_Fa5Yli2cEoJ/s640/074.JPG" width="353" /></a></div>
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Oh, and I also made a transfer of the Darwin, because I just thought I could use a Darwin sticker some day.<br />
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I just have to say, I love the way these look when you are using animals. I really thought about making Valentine's cards with these and wild animal pictures that said, "I'm Wild about You." Just an idea. Go ahead. Steal it. Hope this helps. I would love to see what you do with this technique.<br />
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<br />still life angiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15150141781089602529noreply@blogger.com4