It's Portfolio Time! And Spring Cleaning Time! And Procrastinating Time!

And all I'm going to say about portfolios is I'll be thrilled when I'm done with them, have turned them in, and have gotten them back.

In the meantime, I'm collecting work the kids have done this year--I'm still kinda in shock that I'm homeschooling two teenagers!  Also, we're in major spring cleaning mode here (well, mom is anyway : P) and I'm sorting through attic treasures.  You know the 'treasures': those teetering, towering boxes and stacks of toys, books, dress-up clothes, miscellaneous clay creations, cardboard sculptures, etc., that you've been throwing--I mean--gently placing in the attic for the past 4 years?

Well, those treasures have been multiplying up in my attic, or so it would seem, because I've spent WHO KNOWS how much time sorting through shi--I mean, things, and I've barely made the teeny-tiniest-littlest-most miniscule dent in the stuff.  It's like a toy store, book store, and weird junk store combined. 

Not that I've put junk in my attic--well, not on my good days, at least.  But I do have to wonder what I was thinking when I put broken whatsits, missing-piece toys, and page after page of drawings that my kids did when they were 3 into my attic for 'safe' keeping.

Seriously, I have enough drawings to fill the MoMA--not that they'd want them, although who knows?  There's plenty of art out there that I totally don't get.  I could have a cutting-edge exhibit on my hands!  I have about 3,000 notes scribbled in preschool chicken-scratch (which I adored at the time), many of which say: "Mom.  Get me a toy.  Please get me a toy.  Love, ---."  So I could have an artsy/written word exhibit in the making.  Maybe I'll hang everything up in my house, wallpaper-like, and invite everyone over to admire and comment on the work.  My teenage homeschoolers would just love that. 
 

I Heart Knoebels

Because really.....

Where else can you find a strapping Norseman like this?

You're even allowed to bring your dog there.  I'd like to bring Shep to Knoebels this summer.  Doesn't he look dandy in a bandana?

Here's ten things I love about Knoebels:
1.  The roller coasters.
2.  No parking fee.
3.  No admission fee!
4.  The food.
5.  The towering Norseman.
6.  The shooting gallery.
7.  The free entertainment.
8.  The COSMOTRON!
9.  The fantastic sky ride.
10.  The trains!  (**Love** the train rides there.)

Recycled Craft: Audio Tape and VHS Tape Bookmark and Recycled Cereal Boxes

I've been thinking lately about the possibilities of audio tape and VHS tape with regards to a recycling project.  This morning I had a lot of fun experimenting! 
I started with a VHS tape that I opened up, and an old audio tape:

I dug up this great Reader's Digest book, Complete Guide to Needlework, and cut out a bookmark-size piece of plastic canvas:

Then I got to work on a sampler plastic canvas bookmark, done with the audio and VHS tapes.  It was fun to try some new stitches that I haven't done before like the Jacquard stitch and the checker stitch:

Another view:

I tried finger knitting the VHS tape and this shoes terrific potential as a bow or flower...I need to finish some of these and will post photos when they're done.  Anyone have any other ideas for VHS tape?  I'd like to try knitting with it.

 

Other crafts I've been making include lavender sachets and recycled flower boxes.  The sachets are made from gently used fabrics and lavender I grow in my yard:

The boxes are made from the small cereal boxes--I used to love getting the variety pack when I was a kid!  Well, I like the sugary varieties, at least.

I turned the boxes inside out and hot glued them together, painted them and put spanish moss and eucalyptus leaves inside.  I added fabric flowers I had made from gently used fabrics and twigs from outside.  These are so sweet and look really nice hanging on a doorknob:

Random Goodness and a Gun Box(?!)

Because it's been so long.........

Here's some of the mixed media work we've done in recent weeks:
"You Are Here" by Sophia.  We have this hanging in our craft room:

Smaller works I've done:

We've really enjoyed the mixed media projects!

I also love working with old books--taking off the covers to make a new journal or work of art, or cutting out the pages to make a secret box.  Here's the most recent book project.  It was so much fun painting the outside!  And cutting out the pages can turn into a Zen meditation kinda thing:

I have this for sale at the flea market that I'm a regular at, and the funny thing is that twice in one day someone asked me if this was for keeping your gun in.  (???!!!)  No.  No it's not.

Catching Up

Boy have I missed blogging!

I've been busy getting the gardens dug/planted/weeded, making crafts, running two teenagers to various homeschool activities, and (occasionally) vegging out in front of the television.  Ah, spring.  You just can't beat it.

Okay, so what have we been up to?

First off, look what I brought home from my mom's house:

I LOVE this cookbook.  It ranks right up there with the Betty Crocker Cooky Book as far as childhood favorites go.  I'd pour over this thing, over and over, trying to decide what to make, and I wanted to make everything.  Especially the gingerbread house.  The ghost with the flaming eyes.  The giant ham loaf/crater thingy.

According to my mom, we did actually make some of the recipes.  Some of the recipes, like the ham crater, I know we never tried, and I'm determined to make those recipes that I always wanted to, but never did. 

Like these: Big Fat Cookies! 

Start with a box of cake mix with pudding:

Add a couple eggs and chocolate chips.  I used a more grown-up chocolate (which is just what I happened to have in the cupboard):

I unwrapped a bunch and chopped them up.  Before I knew it, the cookies were baked, and I tried one.  The cookies tasted as good as they looked in the book.  Maybe even better, given the amount of time I've been waiting to make them.  Yum.

Plastic Canvas Zombies!

I love these guys.  They used to be ornaments, but I'm turning them into magnets instead and hope to bring a bunch to my next craft show:

Italian Easter Pie

I grew up with this--every Easter, along with the Gertrude Hawk candies, the baked ham, and broccoli rice casserole, Easter Pie would appear.  We'd eat it for breakfast along with our Easter chocolate, which tasted awfully good because typically I'd have given that up for lent. 

Eating this is like stepping into a time machine.  Thank God for moms who make Easter Pie.

 

Our Pizza Oven's New Roof

It's coming along quite nicely.....I had to post a photo.  This will help keep the water out, since we've been having a problem with that.  It's not quite done yet, but it will be soon!

 I'm getting hungry.....

What Would Easter Be Without Bunnies?

Especially little, adorable knitted ones?

I love these little guys!  (Thanks, Mochimochi Land, for the pattern!)

They had a blast today at the coffee shop:

 Some of them even **tried** to help me write:

Making these was quite the learning experience--I now know how to knit in the round.  Yay!  It took me a while to get the hang of it, but I was able to do it with the help of some online knitting videos.

Now, if I could just find some homemade peanut butter eggs, I'd really be happy.

Making Art Can Be a Messy Proposition

.........but it's worth it.  I took this a couple of weeks ago when Sophia was repurposing a book into a 'secret treasure' book.  I've been working on one to bring to my next craft show, although I'm not sure that I want to part with it!

We have been using old hardcover books pretty frequently at our house.  They make a great base for works of art and also for journal covers.

Making your own journal is so easy and I love the feeling of having a brand new one which didn't require me driving to a store and spending money on something made a thousand miles away.  It's a spiritually satisfying project, if you know what I mean.    

To make the journal I cut off the front and back of a book with an exacto knife.  I used Mod Podge to apply pieces of old maps to the covers, and then I applied gesso and acrylics.  You can use stamps, or whatever you have to apply paint creatively.  I used a heart roller stamp. 

 I got the idea for the journal from a mixed media book called Taking Flight by Kelly Rae Roberts, which I absolutely love.  There are so many terrific ideas in the book, and inspiration from artists as well.  There are wonderful quotes in every chapter and I especially love the thought-provoking journal prompts she has throughout the book.

Here we are, before binding:

For some other projects, I've been using canvas boards that I picked up at Michael's on sale.  I love working with these!  Here's one with a ribbon attached, all ready for hanging:

I love using images from old dictionaries and other books.......here's one of my favorites, a flying fish!