michelle ward

Leap Day

What will your leap be today?

H.B.O.

What do you do when you're both sick and playing nurse?  Watch tv, more specifically movies.  I see that tonight is the launch of The Gates documentary I told you about at an earlier time.  I won't see it until wake up tomorrow as I set the tivo for the 1am showing - we'll be watching L.A. Ink at 10.

I'm sure it will be fabulous - just as experiencing them was.  I can't believe it's been three years but this photo is proof - the kids look so young! 

EDIT:  There was a scheduling mishap on TLC so I quickly switched over to HBO and caught it.  FABULOUS!!!  Very cool that they took you through the early days of proposing The Gates.  And showed all the pessimists, so you could really appreciate what a huge feat it was to get this art installed.  (I so wanted to be on the volunteer team, had the application....couldn't swing the schedule.)  See it!

BRAVO TO OPTIMISM!!! 

I caught this one over the weekend:  Bernard and Doris.  I was interested to learn more about Doris Duke.  We've visited her wonderful estate here in NJ but I admit I didn't know much about her.  You can catch through mid-march.

And if you haven't been, visit Duke Farms.  They have guided tours all year long but definitely go when it's warmer so you can appreciate not only the gardens, but all the grounds, including man-made lakes and remote-controlled waterfalls.  (My own photo below!)

And a head up for this, coming in March:  Autism - The Musical.  I don't know anything about it but will tune in for sure!

Hope you are all staying well!  Wash your hands and take your Vitamin C.

W.O.W.

More roses.  EB had a photo on her blog that reminded me of these pretties (actually it's on her banner now but she changes it all the time so you might miss it).  My grandfather, whose name we borrowed for our daughter Fallon, and affectionately called Bumpa, had these in his safe deposit box for years as they are silver, even the food-touching part.  He and my grandmother gave them to me - probably because I was the first to get married, and became a "W".  My silver chest is an eclectic collection of monogrammed silver from both sides of my family, in addition to pieces added from friends, and others found in dusty shops, brought home and shined up.  I cave for anything with "M" or "W".  I love setting the table with all the various pieces - reminds me of all my loved ones.

Some messing around with Photoshop.  Fun to try out the different options.  I've printed some of these on transparency to put in my journal, and will write down the stories behind each silver pattern and engraving.

Speaking of "M"s, scored this custom necklace from ETSY.  It is the coolest bezel I have ever seen on a typewriter letter.  Love when an artist finds a way to Make It Your Own.  And these tags rock too.

 

Visit Elizabeth's shop for all the cool stuff she makes with typewriter keys, watchparts, and....well, just go to KeysandMemories.etsy.com  And then pop over to see Kelly, and scoop up several batches of wonderful patterned die-cut doo-dahs for your journal at The Paper Pixie.

The scene from here.....no school today!  I have the new Somerset Studio, the March Vogue (over one inch thick!), the Oscar Special Vanity Fair, and Illusive 2 (I've already listed 30 sites to visit from this book!)  Who needs food?

rent it, buy it, SEE it

PulseGirl told me about this one, like before it came out....and then she reported back on it's amazingness merely a nano-second after she left her seat (might have texted me before she stood up). 

I missed it in the theater, but got to watch it, and all the terrific extra footage on the dvd from the comforts of home.  Didn't even have to worry that the movie house might be out of popcorn because I could make my own.  (Yes, it happened to us at Sweeney Todd, can you believe THAT?)  LOVE LOVE LOVE Julie Taymor and her passion.  (We saw her Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera on New Year's Day, 2007). I always feel it's a privilege to go behind the scenes to see the REAL people involved in making a film and to hear their vision and witness their enthusiasm.  If you saw it in the theater you might want to get the dvd just for that All Access Pass.

Did you love the whole strawberry painting scene and his studio room?  Swoooooon! 

Makes me wish I had a paint ball gun and a big canvas wall.  Did you see The Princess Diaries?  Loved when the mom had balloons filled with paint hanging above a canvas and she threw darts at them so they'd pop and spill out and splatter randomly.  Tried to find a photo for you but came up empty.  Maybe this summer I'll try it outside and show ya.

onWARD

Let me introduce you to my friend Linda Warlyn.  If you are a frequent commentor here then you recognize her name.  And if you subscribe to Somerset Studio, then you know her from there too.  And if you got Lynne's new book, then you saw her there too.  In fact, her piece is my favorite-ist.  She could easily win the MVNBC award because she sprinkles sunshine and enthusiasm wherever she goes.  I met Linda something like three years ago in a workshop, and then got to spend time with her again last fall.  But beyond that - I really attribute getting to know one another better because of the blogger/commentor relationship.  She is simply the dearest girl - someone you want living next door, or at the desk next to you, or on the other end of the phone.  She's a reader (of people) and a remember-er.  She's a GETter.

Just recently I was a lucky girl to get TWO packages of loot from Linda.  Before I had a chance to share on the blog all the great stuff from No. 1 that came in a wonderful black and white patterned envelope sitting inside a black and white patterned tray that was lined with red (of course!) and then No. 2 arrived!  Who would even want to open this?  Faye (my faithful mail carrier) handed it over with a grin.

So during the recent clean-up of my studio I sorted all the cool mail art and loot packages into one humungous container.  Normally when I get unexpected deliveries I set them aside and eventually put what I can on my blog and in my journal - evidence, right?  Cards, envelopes, cool wrappings, you name it....it would go in the journal.  But I got so behind that all this great stuff is piled in a bin.  No more!  So with Linda's gifts I made a pact with myself to journal about it and use all the great stuff. 

And I love this:  on the little note seen below Linda wrote "maybe you can use some of this stuff, if not shake it off".  Told ya, she's a rememberer.  And I'm using it.

So you can see I didn't get very far - just have a few pages in progess - but at least I'm doing it!   Thanks Linda for all the very special "you-get-me" stash. 

I appreciate all my commentors.  Is it commenter or commentor?  I couldn't find a definite answer so I went with commentor since it's more like contributor.  Commentors really contribute to a blog - and make the blogger feel validated.  I have many MVNBC and many MVBC too.  Thanks for sharing your thoughts and enthusiasm.  It's how friendships can begin.

More to share....from more friends met online (*wink* you know who you are)....but I gotta get my journal pages started first.

EDIT:  With permission granted by Linda, here is an excerpt of her artwork in Lynne Perrella's new book.  I believe in sneak peeks only....you have to get the book to see the entire glorious piece. Art Making is a terrific book of visuals - and if you're obsessed with collecting you'll feel like you found a group of souls who Get it.

can i vent for a sec?

I'm wondering if there is a new wave of soliciting taking place in the blogging environment.  Within the last two weeks I have been sent emails saying my blog has been reviewed and I was approved to host advertising for xyz companies.  Hello?  Advertising?  Has this happened to you?   Why in the blazes would I host advertising?  I don't even advertise my OWN company, anywhere (with the exception of link on here, does that count?) 

I was also offered to switch to a different blog service, and there was another place that offered a stat tracker that promised blahblahblah.  I won't even put a sitemeter on my blog.  Who needs that much information?  I find those things an invasion of sorts.  Take a look at all the things a sitemeter will tell you, in addition to all the information they keep for themselves and you will cover your eyes and run the other way.  I mean, if you were Amazon you might want to know what web pages were visited most, and where they were from, and where they went next, and how long they stayed, but a personal blog?  Scary. 

So to those who are out there "reviewing my blog" for advertising placement, no thanks.  Take me off your mailing list.  I don't want your $.

I have some really wonderful things to share with you - stuff that came in the mail from friends, and from etsy.  I've set a goal for myself on a new format for this kind of sharing - hope to get it up during the weekend.  But for now, thanks for letting me vent. 

And have a good weekend!

for you

Or as we say at our house.......

I had this made when Fallon was born, and we would use it for her handmade classroom cards.  Just below it you will see that adorable lopsided circle with an "S".  When Peter was like 5 or 6 he thought I needed to have a Skittle stamp to use with my M&M stamp, so he drew this for me and I had it made into rubber.  Sometime I'll show you the stamps made from Sam's drawings.

Love to you!

messing around

Low tech meets high tech.  Low:  Spray paint (black then copper) over stencil onto patterned wrapping paper.  High:  Scanned image embellished with custom Photoshop brushes and text.  Messing around is a great way to learn things....whether you are doing it in a low or high tech way.  Starting image below.

I've shown something similar to this before....when you spray heavily onto a stencil you can quickly flip for a terrific mono-print.  Some unfinished journal pages....to get you psyched about monoprinting with your stencils.  Custom heart cut by Susan Warder, thanks girl!

H D 08

Fallon and I road tripped to Philly for the official location of Heartagram Day 2008.  Friends from NJ and NY joined us for the ride, and we met up with friends from MA, RI, and PA.  We were treated to a pre-release screening of the forthcoming dvd that featured a live concert.  The event took place in an old theater, and it was like being in the front row.  Great day, lots of loot, including the coveted wall piece above, and stuff below - Fallon even took some decorations.

Thanks to everyone who came by for the Polar Festival and your generous comments about my Winter White post.  Fun to meet so many new people!  We actually had snow yesterday, and today!

winter whites

Elizabeth, as seen in the current issue of Artful Blogging, is hosting another online party, The Polar Festival.  To join in, I am pic spamming with whites - some older art I dug up just for the festivities.

She'll have the participating links up Saturday, Feb. 9, (when I'll be off celebrating Heartagram Day!)  Stop by eb's place, I'm sure it will be a day of lovely visuals.

EDIT:  I was asked to show the whole photo of "Purest Love" so I got out some old magazines and found it, as well as two more from another issue.  Then I dug even deeper into the archive and found a page a made for Lynne's True Colors White journal in 2001.  Was it that long ago?  Sheesh.

I think the stories the artists wrote about their pages in True Colors made it really special.  This spread wasn't in the book, so here's what I wrote about it:

Since working in these journals took on the pattern of adding music as a foundation I began researching for White songs before Lynne’s journal even arrived.  closed cd.  I hadn’t settled on a song but had chosen several tunes with White in the title.  (I knew Lynne had a jukebox so thought I would be clever and create a white and silver retro faux Wurlitzer with an enclosed cd.  I had everything from Barry White to White Wedding ready to burn.   Then when the White book got here with it’s lovely cover of old whites, and gorgeous pages filled with lace, feathers and pearls, the perfect song whispered to me: Edelweiss, with it’s lyric “small and white, clean and bright”.  It never would have occurred to me to use that song before seeing Lynne’s book.  Edelweiss and the film it came from, The Sound of Music, became my theme for White.  From an enclosed envelope that came with Lynne’s book I scanned pictures of her backyard view in winter and manipulated them in photoshop, turning them sepia, for “the hills are alive, with the sound of music”.  I found an old book cover with a title that fit my theme, and created a booklet filled with the song lyrics, information about Edelweiss flowers, and a packet of seeds (a real find, thanks to Ebay, as they are an endangered flower).  I didn’t actually use white in Lynne’s book but implied it with light shades of pretty colors, with a winterscape, and with my theme. White’s music addition is a mini cd with several versions of Edelweiss from the movie soundtrack as well as a rendition sung by Harry Connick Jr.

Ok, that's all the White I'm going to dig up for now.  If you're visiting here from EB's party, thanks for stopping by!

knock knock

Isn't it a great feeling when you see something that just makes you laugh out loud?  This company gives us that *wink* with their clever products.  I dare you not to smile.  I double dare you not to go running right over to their site and scoop up a bunch of their cool things.  When you're there, be sure to read their Philosophy.  Love these people!  Thanks to Mary at KnockKnock.biz for permission to use the graphics from their site.

 

They also have some fun books, paper pads, and well......just go there.

i crack myself up

Last February I had a DUH-moment as I was chomping away on candy hearts and reading the messages.  You have to eat quite a few bags to collect this many LOVE HIMs.  Fast forward to last week - I was tooling around on ETSY, as I like to do, and saw the photo below (on the left). 

Duh!  I had to order a custom pendant.  HAD TO.   So I placed an order with Shannon @ rubygirl, HERE.  "LOVE HIM" arrived yesterday.  I knew she must be thinking that it was to honor my husband, or maybe the Lord, but I'll bet she didn't expect that it was about a band.  Love all of them - him, Him, and HIM. 

And love this!  Thanks Shannon. 

date update

OMG!  I Get that Sam loves Miley.  But now I really GET it.  She's a doll and the show was fantastic.  We will go again Thursday - Sam was THAT impressed he's willing to get out of school early.  I totally misheard a lyric, I thought she was singing "Life's what you make it, so let's make it rock."  But I looked it up and it's "let's make it right".  Rock or Right?  (I think mine is better).

The 3-D effect of the film was amazing.  It's been years since I've experienced that.  (I think I need to see the new U23D now).  The behind-the-scenes footage is an added bonus - definitely a treat for her fans.  Here's hoping the Heartagram Day party next weekend is just as cool.  And the GIANTS won!

it's a date

Last Friday I thought I would be clever and pick up tickets early for the Hannah Montana movie.  Like, I thought we would be going later that night.  Wrong.  All that was left was 9:40 tonight, or 5:20 AM, 7:20 AM and 1:00 AM on SCHOOL DAYS.  Hello?  Sam hates to miss school, even for Miley.  So tonight, while the whole neighborhood is glued to the tv for the outcome of the Superbowl starring our own Giants, I'll be watching a Miley Cyrus concert in 3-D. 

Don't forget the Jane Auten series on Masterpiece Theater tonight.  They are running a special, "Miss Austen Regrets".   

Oh, and about the craft paper journals:  I have no clue where I got them.  I have several, all with varying weights of paper.  One source I can think of is Paperchase brand, found at Borders.  The paper is kinda thin for painting on.  Even harder to find, and cooler than craft paper, is a black page journal.  If I figure out where I got them I'll post, but if you happen to know feel free to share in the comments.

Roosevelt

  Congratulations to Elizabeth Bunsen for being the Top Hat Pick for Crusade No. 16.  Last month's challenge was to Journal Your Blog.  Lots of terrific pages were shared and we made new friends too.  Next Crusade will be posted later this weekend.  CURIOUS?  Come play!