Love Letters

Another journal entry...

This is a simple little impromptu collage I added to the bottom of the journal page, above it is the saying I wrote out with a brush on a post a few entries back... I love that quote... I need to look at it every day and really remind myself of that... I'm afraid I'm going to get to the end of my life and feel like I never really did live it on my terms... so I'm working on that.  Anyhow... I really don't like it when my writing goes uphill or is crooked, so why am I so reluctant to pencil in a little guideline here and there?!?  All I can say is I am either really lazy or really spontaneous... I like how the latter sounds better!

       Now, GO MAKE SOMETHING!  

Drawing skills...

Lately, I've been pushing myself to draw at least one small thing every day... ok, every other day... the impetus was I remembered that calligraphy is really drawing letters... it has absolutely nothing to do with handwriting, though a calligrapher will usually have pretty good handwriting (I think it's just a side effect of studying letters for years, and we usually love letters, so we like them to look good, just MHO)... I digress...

so here's a recent journal entry of mine, with a little drawn ditty, I mean kitty, Moo... (do any of you give your pets three or four ridiculous names?!?)

and here is another journal entry, 

 

And one last journal entry, just for fun:

Paper Salad everywhere!!!

Today's newest and brightest idea of mine is to present you with my very own, unique "Paper Salad"... I'm offering a smattering of my paper scraps and pieces of calligraphy practice, all things I'd use myself, and do use, all the time! Lots of the paper is painted tyvek and it's beautiful... too beautiful to ever throw out!  When I teach classes I always bring my tyvek leftovers for my students to go through, to take as a sort of "give away" gift.  It makes me feel good that they appreciate how pretty these papers really are...

   There used to be an awesome paper store in Royal Oak, named Sheets... they carried incredible handmade paper, imported precious papers, and unusual cardstock, etc.  They did the same thing with their leftovers, and called it something like "Scrap Salad".  I LOVED it, because that way I could have small pieces of very expensive papers to use in my collage.  I couldn't have begun to afford an entire sheet of those specialty papers, nor would I have wanted to rip it up to use in collage!  

It's kind of difficult to really appreciate some of the papers... the metallic paints don't necessarily photograph all that well. But there is a nice variety of painted tyvek, calligraphy snippets, beautiful german written in an 1893 journal (see in photo below, on the left side of center), punched leaves and hearts from my painted papers, a few old tickets or cards or old book pages... and yes, scraps of some of beautiful handmade papers I've purchased over the years.

So here's my question... would anyone be interested in a side of "Paper Salad"?  I'd like to charge $10.00 per container, and will ship for free for the entire month of April (continental US only!).  I will happily put together custom orders, by color or colors... or you can just order a random "Paper Salad", and be surprised!  I didn't take the time to count how many pieces of paper is in the container, but I promise you'll love it.  If you don't, you know how to reach me.  

I don't have a Paypal account, and don't want one (long story, but I didn't do anything wrong... really!). If you'd like to order a salad, email me for my address, send me a check or money order, and I'll get your salad out asap, so that it arrives just as fresh as possible! 

And if you think this is a nutty idea, I'd like to hear from you, too... I know how much I like things like this, but I'm only one person.  I'd love to hear your thoughts! I will be giving away one Paper Salad to a random commenter, so talk to me!

So, please order something healthy for your studio, & now, go make something!

New Banner

This is my new banner, made using images of Moo cards I had made. Have you ever seen a Moo card?  It's the same width of a typical business card, but half as tall (that depends on how you're looking at it... in other words, just as long on the long side, half as wide on the short side). The texture is really lovely - nice, thick cardstock with a wonderful, smooth coating. 

100 cards cost roughly $20, plus shipping, and you can have all 100 cards printed with the same image, or you can upload multiple images to use, for the same price.  Once you upload the images from your files, you can move the image around under their template, & enlarge the image somewhat, until you get it just like you want it. 

I love my Moo cards!  And it's fun to present a few of the cards to people, so they can pick their favorite... some people have even asked me for multiples.  I'm always flattered. I'd like to think if nothing else, they make a nice little bookmark!  (If you'd like one of my Moo cards, I'd be delighted to send you one... just leave a comment requesting one, and I'll email you back to ask for your snail mail address).  

And if you decide to order your own Moo cards, let me know if you post an image... I'd love to see your version of a Moo card!  

Now, go make something!

xoxo,

K.

Brutally Honest or Brutal Honesty...

Good morning!  Wow... yesterday's post really hit home for some of you... thank you SO much for all of your kind words of encouragement and support.  I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate it!  

I was just looking at an email sent to me from Lululemon, the workout clothing company, and I was lamenting why they only make workout clothing for women size 2 - 10, occasionally size 2 - 12!  WOW!  I'm not sure I'll EVER fit into their clothes, which is really a shame, because 

  a. I love their clothing and

  b. I have a little bit of discretionary income I could give them in exchange for workout clothes... 

if only they made something besides gloves that fit me... me and the other half of all the women out there! The average size in the US is size 14... okay, that's not ideal, but still... are they nuts or do they only see and know women who are size 2 ?!?  I don't think I'm all that unusual... I'm fat and I'm an athlete (hidden in there somewhere, but it's true!!!)... and I'd like to wear cool, comfortable, well made workout clothing!

Anyhow, they have cool upbeat messages on their bags and on their website, so I made my own version of one of the things I found just now:

At first, I thought "Love your failures?!?" ... are they kidding?!?  

But maybe they are on to something... it's my failures that are going to push me harder to succeed... it's my failures that are going to motivate me to make lasting changes in my life... we don't feel all that motivated to change anything if we are happy and content, right?!?  

So, for today, I'm going to embrace my failures as a way to keep me focused on what I need to do to get healthier...  please feel free to join me on this journey... I promise I'll keep you updated on the good, the bad, and the ugly... 

Brutally honest or Brutal honesty... 

either way, I need to talk out loud about my struggle... 

I cannot do this alone.  

Thank you for listening... xoxo,  

Painted tyvek paper: painted with Golden Metallic Bronze Glaze (slight green undertones on most of the page), iridescent blue and yellow watercolor, and Golden Metallic Copper Glaze. I apologize if any of this is difficult to read... this was more my need to vent than an attempt to make something legible or "pretty"!

Toni asked me to scan my new calligraphy pen so she could see what it looks like, so here it is! The screw on the top of the flat side of the "business end" of the pen allows the two blades to open up, or close down, which affects how much ink the pen holds and the width of the line drawn with the pen. One of these days I'll become proficient with that pen and Toni has been kind enough to offer to give me some guidance on its use. What a nice gal, right?!? :D

Well, thanks to Michelle Ward, I finally did it! I carved my very own rubber stamp!!! I've had the rubber blocks and Speedball cutting tools for oh, say, a year or two?... just sitting there in my studio, gathering dust, patiently waiting for the woman who inhabits said studio to get off her duff and try her hand at cutting a custom made rubber stamp... and I feel so much better about myself now! I'm sort of kidding, but I'm sort of serious... why am I so anxious to try new things, but when I get the tools and supplies home, I chicken out... I mean, seriously, what was I waiting for?!? And Michelle and everyone else who has said making your own rubber stamps is addictive, was absolutely correct! Now I want to go out and buy about a dozen of those rubber blanks to carve!

I just don't know how deep one is supposed to carve away the background... I want the stamp image to be the only thing that stamps... I'm just not all that fond of the carve lines that are in some prints... which means I really took the background rubber down deep, which then makes the rubber really, really flexible... which then means those carve lines I worked so hard to eliminate are entirely possible to make, if I push too hard on the rubber... perhaps that's why I should put a wood back on it, or put that sticky stuff on it so it'll stick to my acrylic blocks... I'll let you know how that turns out!

So, if you haven't taken up the carving tool and joined in on Michelle's latest and greatest challenge, head over to her site for a terrific tutorial, and go carve something!

I borrowed this from Stephanie's blog site because it is SO perfect for my life, right now, today... and I hope you don't mind, Stephanie... I couldn't help myself! (Be sure to go check out Stephanie's site if you haven't already... PLEASE! I've got to redeem myself somehow!) :D

An enchanted life has many moments when the heart is overwhelmed with beauty and the imagination is electrified by some haunting quality in the world... Enchantment may be a state of rapture and ecstasy in which the soul comes to the foreground, and the literal concerns of survival and daily preoccupation at least momentarily fade into the background." - Thomas Moore

Seriously, Is that so wrong?!?!? I keep trying to live the enchanted life, I really do! But somehow those darned grown up responsibilities keep crowding their way into my little fantasy world, and I resent it! I could (and do), get lost for hours and hours "playing"... I am living for the day I can quit my job and stay home and do exactly what I want to do, all day long!

This is the journal kit I threw together (literally) for my trip to New Oleans... I am on a quest to find just the perfect box, tin, container to house my kit... I may have to make two kits... one for journaling on the go, and another for painting tyvek paper on the go! It's been great seeing the different kits folks come up with, thanks Michelle! Great Crusade, again!

This is the cover of a Moleskine Cahier journal, which is approximately 3.5" x 5", and made out of heavy Kraft paper. I covered it with various torn paper, painted tyvek, part of an old map, etc., and glued everything in place with Mod Podge, and then used a rubber stamp to add the "Dream" image. It's one of my personal favorites, and I'm kind of bummed the pages inside have goofy notes in them... nothing worth keeping, that's for sure. Maybe I'll remove the pages and add in new paper, so I can reuse the cover! I like the versatility of these small books, and the texture of the pages is lovely. I have such a good time making the covers of these little books my own!

Whew! Made it through another successful dentist appointment... I worry SO much before I go... and yes, Dr. Bob, I KNOW intellectually you're not going to hurt me, but clearly, this is not a rational fear!!! And yes, I've assisted in many, many bloody, messy, yucky procedures as a nurse... but it wasn't happening to ME!!! It's sort of like what they say about "minor surgery"... it's only minor if it's happening to someone else!

This July is going to be a big month for me, one way or another... yesterday I sent off the registration check for the 2008 Chicago Calligraphy Conference, which takes place July 19-26. Once I get the registration information, I'll be able to make a decision about how many days I'll attend; because I've committed myself to ride in a Make a Wish Ride, July 25, 26, & 27 with Team Alex, in honor of a local teen who lost her battle with cancer. I know both events will change my life, without question, for the better, and I am excited and scared at the same time!

Somedays work really sucks...

Painted tyvek paper: painted with Golden Metallic Bronze Glaze (slight green undertones on most of the page), iridescent blue and yellow watercolor, and Golden Metallic Copper Glaze. I apologize if any of this is difficult to read... this was more my need to vent than an attempt to make something legible or "pretty"!

Toni asked me to scan my new calligraphy pen so she could see what it looks like, so here it is! The screw on the top of the flat side of the "business end" of the pen allows the two blades to open up, or close down, which affects how much ink the pen holds and the width of the line drawn with the pen. One of these days I'll become proficient with that pen and Toni has been kind enough to offer to give me some guidance on its use. What a nice gal, right?!? :D

Street Challenge No. 18

Well, thanks to Michelle Ward, I finally did it! I carved my very own rubber stamp!!! I've had the rubber blocks and Speedball cutting tools for oh, say, a year or two?... just sitting there in my studio, gathering dust, patiently waiting for the woman who inhabits said studio to get off her duff and try her hand at cutting a custom made rubber stamp... and I feel so much better about myself now! I'm sort of kidding, but I'm sort of serious... why am I so anxious to try new things, but when I get the tools and supplies home, I chicken out... I mean, seriously, what was I waiting for?!? And Michelle and everyone else who has said making your own rubber stamps is addictive, was absolutely correct! Now I want to go out and buy about a dozen of those rubber blanks to carve!

I just don't know how deep one is supposed to carve away the background... I want the stamp image to be the only thing that stamps... I'm just not all that fond of the carve lines that are in some prints... which means I really took the background rubber down deep, which then makes the rubber really, really flexible... which then means those carve lines I worked so hard to eliminate are entirely possible to make, if I push too hard on the rubber... perhaps that's why I should put a wood back on it, or put that sticky stuff on it so it'll stick to my acrylic blocks... I'll let you know how that turns out!

So, if you haven't taken up the carving tool and joined in on Michelle's latest and greatest challenge, head over to her site for a terrific tutorial, and go carve something!

I hope you don't mind, Stephanie!

I borrowed this from Stephanie's blog site because it is SO perfect for my life, right now, today... and I hope you don't mind, Stephanie... I couldn't help myself! (Be sure to go check out Stephanie's site if you haven't already... PLEASE! I've got to redeem myself somehow!) :D

An enchanted life has many moments when the heart is overwhelmed with beauty and the imagination is electrified by some haunting quality in the world... Enchantment may be a state of rapture and ecstasy in which the soul comes to the foreground, and the literal concerns of survival and daily preoccupation at least momentarily fade into the background." - Thomas Moore

Seriously, Is that so wrong?!?!? I keep trying to live the enchanted life, I really do! But somehow those darned grown up responsibilities keep crowding their way into my little fantasy world, and I resent it! I could (and do), get lost for hours and hours "playing"... I am living for the day I can quit my job and stay home and do exactly what I want to do, all day long!

This is the journal kit I threw together (literally) for my trip to New Oleans... I am on a quest to find just the perfect box, tin, container to house my kit... I may have to make two kits... one for journaling on the go, and another for painting tyvek paper on the go! It's been great seeing the different kits folks come up with, thanks Michelle! Great Crusade, again!

Moleskine Cahier journal cover

This is the cover of a Moleskine Cahier journal, which is approximately 3.5" x 5", and made out of heavy Kraft paper. I covered it with various torn paper, painted tyvek, part of an old map, etc., and glued everything in place with Mod Podge, and then used a rubber stamp to add the "Dream" image. It's one of my personal favorites, and I'm kind of bummed the pages inside have goofy notes in them... nothing worth keeping, that's for sure. Maybe I'll remove the pages and add in new paper, so I can reuse the cover! I like the versatility of these small books, and the texture of the pages is lovely. I have such a good time making the covers of these little books my own!

More "angry art"...

Whew! Made it through another successful dentist appointment... I worry SO much before I go... and yes, Dr. Bob, I KNOW intellectually you're not going to hurt me, but clearly, this is not a rational fear!!! And yes, I've assisted in many, many bloody, messy, yucky procedures as a nurse... but it wasn't happening to ME!!! It's sort of like what they say about "minor surgery"... it's only minor if it's happening to someone else!

This July is going to be a big month for me, one way or another... yesterday I sent off the registration check for the 2008 Chicago Calligraphy Conference, which takes place July 19-26. Once I get the registration information, I'll be able to make a decision about how many days I'll attend; because I've committed myself to ride in a Make a Wish Ride, July 25, 26, & 27 with Team Alex, in honor of a local teen who lost her battle with cancer. I know both events will change my life, without question, for the better, and I am excited and scared at the same time!