recycling project no. 3 - popsicle sticks

Well so much for me staying away for a week! I will have to say that I've been pretty good. All I've done is pop into a couple of forums and that's about it. It's amazing how hard it is to stay totally away.

This morning the kids and I tackled another recycling type project for our art wall. I call this a recycling project because someone could actually collect a bunch of popsicle sticks for this but we didn't. I've had a box of 1000 sitting around forever. I bought it years ago and we haven't put much of a dent into it. A little bit of paint, sticks, glue and 1/2 hr of time and this is what we came up with.

I'm trying to keep these projects simple enough so that we can do it in a short amount of time. I know if they're more involved the kids will get bored quickly and they'll want to move on to something else. We're not aiming for masterpieces. We're aiming to have fun together! :)



Little C's version - She had absolutely no interest in the project when she just saw the sticks. As soon as she saw me pull out some paints she jumped right in. She only needed a little help with the final gluing step. I placed each stick where she told me to put it.



My version - I cut the rounded tips off of my sticks. D told me I should have added more color so that my piece would look "as pretty" as theirs. lol.



D's version - He did this completely on his own and he says it's a satellite.



For any inquiring minds my new blog header is a photo that I took last week when we were out doing the tourist thing with our friends. We were on a restaurant balcony watching boats go by. Fun times.

Quitting my browser...now!

EDIT: Thank you to Natalie for featuring this project on the Craft blog, to Brian at Wired and to Jonathan at Apartment Therapy-LA!

just one more

I decided that I might as well use my latest stamp for a new card. I called it "quiet moment" because I just think that's the best way to enjoy a favorite hot drink - during a quiet moment with a good book, great company or during some alone time. I don't remember the last time I had the latter other than past midnight! These cards are now available on my sites.

Ok, now I'm really out of here!

too tired to think of title

A new order of linoleum is waiting to be carved. What to carve is the first question. When to carve is the second. There are orders to send, design work to complete, etc. etc. As far as the blocks are concerned, I'm leaning towards changing my direction a little. My sketchbook is full of abstract patterns/shapes that I'd like to try out. Stay tuned.

In the next couple of weeks, my blogging may be sporadic at best. To be honest, I'm going to try to go without using the internet for a full week or more. I have no idea if I have the willpower to do it but I'm simply too busy to not give it a shot. Wish me luck! :)

taking a second look

Whew! What a week. Unfortunately, I don't have anything new worth showing even though I was super busy. I finished the custom design cards for my friend's baby shower with a couple of changes from the last time I showed them. I kept looking at my prototype and something kept bothering me. I finally figured out that the block print looked more like a cup of hot chocolate or coffee to me. I cut out the dark part of the stamp and finally bought that Martha Stewart printed paper I'd seen to use as a background.

Poking a lot of little holes and threading embroidery thread. Patience. Patience.



Putting the cards together.



Done!



Other than work we've been busy entertaining friends that are in town. The last time we saw them was on our wedding day (10 yrs in August!). We're doing all the typical "touristy" things that you do when out of town people visit - among them visiting the NASA- Space Center. Needless to say the kids are having a blast.

If you have time for some more reading, yesterday I finally managed to post another interview on Crafty Synergy.

One more thing, for some reason blogger is only sending me sporadic email alerts when I get comments on my blog so if I haven't replied to any question out there please rest assured that I'm not ignoring you. I just haven't seen your comment. I'm trying to keep track of how many comments each of the recent posts have (fun!) but I'm sure something will slip by.

Have a great weekend! :)