Just Sharing

Jeez more jewellery and retreat

2008-07-29T21:49:00.000-07:00

On July 18-20 I went on a craft retreat to Jarrahdale - don't have any pics as I'm waiting for the girls to send me some!!!! it's a VERY small town about half an hour from me but it's surrounded by bush aka Jarrah trees ie Jarrahdale LOL, as it used to be a sawmill town way back when. All the mill workers cottages are still lived in today, probably by offspring of millworkers families so it's a pretty tight place but so very pretty - need those pics! we stayed in what was the nurses accommodation, there was a small hospital which operated from 1914 to 1957. All that is left is the nurses house - weatherboard and the Dr's house now a private residence - needless to say the Dr's house is quite decorative ie stainglass etc but the nurses is plain but nice. 15 foot ceilings, at least! it boasts a large common room, bedrooms, kitchen/pantry, laundry, bathroom and toilet. It was a lovely space for a retreat as the light in the common room was great and we looked out onto the trees. It was very cold! down to 2C but we had a big gas fire in the cm room and we were decked out in the right gear for sleeping. And the water was hot in the showers! Two minutes away was the General Store which did the best coffee/food/service and we also had a meal down at the tavern - which is now an irish pub! We had a huge weekend of laughing/creating/eating/drinking - actually didn't get to much on the juice as we were busy! We had a lovely variety of quilters/scapbooking/cardmaking/jewellery/and Nikki who did a bit of everything! talk about productive. Whilst only a short distance from home (for me) it felt like we were a million miles from away. Can't wait for the next one! it was truly bliss to think of nothing but what I was creating and sharing laughs and solving world problems.
Whilst away I made four necklaces (one to finish off), pair of earrings and played with some polymer clay. The book I was hoping to take with me turned up a couple of days after camp! and I have made a couple of bits from that - wire brooch and wire bag of beads.

Mixed Media Monday

2008-07-16T03:53:00.000-07:00

This is my first entry on MMM! The theme is Tea for Two and open to interpretation so here goes. This is an altered 'teaspoon' for a swap I was in recently. I got a fab collection of six wonderfully altered teaspoons which I intend to make into a mobile.

Thanks for looking. Cheers, Carmel x

This is the collection - pretty cool or what?

2008-07-13T00:28:00.000-07:00

WS newspaper

2008-07-03T21:30:00.000-07:00

It's ages since I did a Wednesday Stamper (oh I've been slack) only because I have immersed myself in wire for the past few months, see below. This is a piece I did some time ago but all the images came from our local newspaper. Thanks for looking and I will endeavour to participate in WD more often. Cheers, Carmel x

More bits and a couple of swaps

2008-07-03T20:26:00.000-07:00

Well here we are end of the tax year and school hols start today! two weeks of 'what are we doing today Mum?' will I survive? yes as I just adore spending time with my little darlings LOL and knowing that the last weekend of the hols I get to go away to Jarrahdale to play with other ladies and recover from said two weeks!! I do love them!...been in a couple of swaps, Nat's Canvas Niche swap which I will hand over tonight and it's late as in handover as the lovely Dawn was a bit ick! I also had a one for one swap with the other lovely Julie, we did necklaces and I also have Dawn as my Mystery Muse partner for June which I will also hand over tonight and as she works she won't see this post until later.

So first Julie's beautiful necklace...wearing it tonight to show off. I love the atmostsphere of this piece and the construction is perfect. I am a huge fan of Julie's work and treasure each piece.

Next, Canvas Niche - this was fun, once I got started! we had to use the back of the canvas ie. the niche! this piece is called 'Time to Create' and hopefully Dawn will like it - can't wait to see her piece she made for me, it's going to be good (an understatement).

Mystery Muse - this necklace I have made for Dawn as my MM for June. The blue beads I made from polymer clay and attached bead covers, a couple of old buttons, some red coral and a piece of glass I found on the beach in Ireland many years ago - like well over 25! you know that glass that gets worn smooth by the sea? and a couple of wire hearts and swirl - hope she likes it.

These are a few recently finished pieces. I love the wire weaving and decided to try using it for a ring and another bracelet. The beaded ring I saw in a magazine and had to have a go thinking it was very silly but I wore it out and lots of people loved it. I thought it was 'over the top' as it moves but....it was a hit. I also made the celtic knot bracelet from a picture I saw in a book just to see if I could 'do it' as I really want to be good at wire techniques, so this was practice but it's very nice to wear and again a lot of people have admired it. So thanks for looking.

New Jewellery

2008-06-04T04:55:00.000-07:00

I borrowed a book from a friend called "Woven Wire Jewelry" by Linda L. Chandler and Christine R Ritchey - excellent projects with step by step pics . They use sterling silver wire but artistic wire is fine for practicing and more than fine for 'wearing' as it won't tarnish. I am especially fond of the silver. Anyway I've had a go two pieces from the book and here they are! For the domed bracelet they soldered on a silver bead cut in half or beads made of PMC - not being able to solder onto the artistic wire and I don't have a kiln for the PMC I made do with a sterling silver bead cap which I filled with polymer clay which I then baked - did a test piece to see if the wire would take 130 degrees centigrade - it does! which gives me a few more ideas. The domed bracelet is 22 gauge wire and the freeform bracelet is 16 gauge. Lots of fun and I intend to try a few more pieces in the near future. Other exciting news is that my Mum now had a laptop and a webcam and we are now talking/seeing it other via skype - great for the kids as they can see their Grandma all the way in Ireland. Last time the kids actually "saw" Mum was in 2004! talk each week on the phone but actually seeing her was a big thrill for all of us. Poor Mum is trying her best to come to grips with the computer, but she is a gun with her mobile phone LOL - can text with the best of them. Two of my girlfriends go and have a cuppa with my Mum regularly so we all had a lovely catch up a few hours ago - the three of us hadn't 'seen' each other since 2002!! we have all been friends since we were 13yrs old and we are making plans for our 50th's in a few yrs time LOL - where does a lifetime go???

another post.....within a week

2008-05-28T00:37:00.000-07:00

Here I am again...I recently got a small ear bashing for not posting regularly so I will endeavor to rectify the situation. A friends son who is in Yr. 12 is a golf ace and aims to be a professional golfer as a career - move over Tiger, Daniel approaches. Daniel is off to Indonesia this Friday to play in two tournaments, a junior world championship and the Indonesian Open. Two clubs will be hosting four boys from Perth and they wanted to give each club a memento from Australia. Usually it's a plaque with a brass plate but Daniels mum thought it would be nice to give them something different. So the theme was, well golf! and Australia LOL and I was asked to help. I had these 2 frames which are made of paper machie and unfortunately we couldn't use leaves/twigs etc as they are going overseas. But a few of us got together (Sharyanne/Paula/Jackie/myself) to choose what would go in and help ink up the frames and I finished them the other day. Well, Daniel and his dad liked them, which is good...and hopefully the clubs in Indonesia will like them too! Could have kept going with layers but I didn't want to loose the tag with the 'thank you' on it. The golf balls are foam and Sharyanne's new hot knife worked a treat - great tool, it's got all sorts of attachments including soldering/ image transfer/leather and wood burning etc - of course I need one! Thanks for looking, cheers, Carmel xxxx

I can't believe.....

2008-05-21T06:45:00.000-07:00

Well, Oct 07 to May 08 without an entry....pretty slack indeed. Been reading other blogs just not putting anything on my own! Need to get back on the horse so here goes....A few weeks ago I got the most beautiful piece of art in the mail, now I did acknowledge the arrival by ringing the lovely Nat on the phone and brought it to Jan's to show but didn't do anything on le blog or elsewhere. The lovely Nat and I are trading a one for one item and yes Nat my piece is almost on the way to you!!! but lay your eyes on this beautiful piece. I love the colours and the way you used the paint to depict the flowers. I was totally blown away when this arrived and love looking at it every day. This pic doesn't do it justice, getting used to a new camera.

The last few months I have been playing with wire and learning some jewellery techniques, not much if anything done with ink/paint etc. Have participated in Julie's altered spoon swap which should be here any day now and also doing Nat's canvas niche swap so getting back into paint! Here are a few bits of jewellery. Some pics are terrible as I have done the wrong thing and photographed using a black background...but have not got round to doing it again. This is just a small sample of what I've been doing and some have gone and not recorded!

So here goes, will try to keep blogging! if anyone remembers I'm even here LOL.

Cheers,

Carmel xx

Wed Stamp Children

2007-10-22T23:21:00.000-07:00

Finally getting back on deck after hurting my back - gotta love the drugs - anyway Wed Stamp this week is Children and I recently got this PaperArtsy plate which has the most adorable vintage kids. Now the pics aren't great (not sure why) but I inked up some stampboard squares and stamped the images using versamark black. Drilled with the trusty dremel and strung it altogether with black elastic with black buttons in between. It feels quite comfy as a bracelet and I've finally used up some of the stampboard pack I'd bought LOL. Off to school now to pick up the little darlings and feeling quite happy that I made something today! Hope you all have a lovely week. Hugs, Carmel xxx

Blow me down (and my trumpet)

2007-09-21T01:59:00.001-07:00

I was visiting Nat's blog the other day and followed her advice and went and had a look at a blog called How Dare You, they had a challenge called From the Garden (dare no. 31) you had to incorporate something from nature in your work, ie leaves/shells/sticks etc. I liked what I saw so I sent an email and attached the pic of the card I made recently (at the craft fair) which I thought fit the bill. And guess what......I won a prize! woohoo, I'm a little stunned to say the least but thrilled they picked my piece and I'm looking forward to receiving a pack of goodies from CherryArte . So you could push me over with a feather but it's a very nice pick-me-up after the usual week of kids/school/work.
I'm working this weekend and therefore miss out on the ATC Continumn and only get an hour at the school fair so bummer but a little play money is OK and I just might have to treat myself to something nice LOL. Have a lovely weekend, hugs, Carmel xxxx

WS Fish etc

2007-09-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

Wednesday Stamper seems to come around real quick LOL this weeks theme is Fish. I like fish both to watch and eat and I'm trying to remember to take my fish oil liquid supposedly flavoured with vanilla, no flavour will detract from the oily texture shudder! My little piece is on black velvet using the painted embossing technique. I did a workshop last year at the Perth Craft & Quilt Fair with Jacinta Leishman and the technique was recently published in Cloth Paper Scissors. I'm involved in a tech book, hosted by the lovely Kylie and about 29 other women! I need to make said amount of ATC's using this tech!! should be a wonderful piece to behold. So the paint is Twinking H20's, the stamps are polymer - red rubber will not work as well as the paint doesn't come off properly. And I added some micro beads and a little metal fish embellishment.
I tried to scan/photograph this piece and it's not a great result. This type of embossing 'imprints' the images into the velvet, so it's sunken as opposed to normal embossing where the image is pushed out on top (did I make sense LOL). Hope you are all having a great week. Cheers, Carmel xx

WS Tryptich

2007-09-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

Well, I am very flattered indeed that Wednesday Stamper (AKA Belinda) choose my ATC tryptich for their challange this week. When I made it at camp I had a trio of frames and we were making framed ATC's with transpariency. I did them all at once and thought I just wouldn't bother cutting them and ended up with said tryptich, a whimsy! Here is another one but not ATC size. I have had this on the go since my brother/sister-in-law celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary back on the 7th Aug (yes, I'm late) and as 25yrs is silver I went for black/white/silver but felt it needed some bit of colour. It hasn't scanned all that well as the pics on the top layer are on thick foam tape. I might frame it to make a more stylish present. I used the cuttlebug for the lettering and it was fun trying to heat the silver embossing powder LOL. Anyway 'here tis', hope you like it. Cheers, Carmel xxx

Mulberry Paper Wed Stamper

2007-09-12T00:52:00.000-07:00

opps, didn't get anything made with mulberry paper this week for Wednesday Stamper, even though I bought some but I ran out of time....but....I did take some pics of the silkworms eating mulberry leaves at my sons kindy! they are getting pretty big and some are spinning cocoons.

It was Father's Day recently (here in Oz) and this is the tie that Lorcan made for Daddy at kindy - you can see it is anatomically correct LOL - gave the teachers a good giggle. Tim had to wear it to work and provide a pic.

WS Blue

2007-08-31T02:36:00.000-07:00

This weeks WS is Blue...blue is so many things, happy/sad/summer/cold/romantic/evil - I like blue, it covers a multitude of emotion. I have a blue kitchen wall, blue checked curtains, blue cushions, blue sheets - wow it's only when I thought about it I realised how much blue! oh well here is my entry for WS. I made it at stamp camp, it was meant to be three ATC's frame style but when I was putting on the backing I decided not to cut it and it became a triptych (sort of). I dropped a little alcohol ink on the transpariency and added the images etc. So the frame is blue and the little stones in the crowns are blue. The old screen icons were very sultry. Hope you've all had a good week? It's Fathers Day on Sunday here in Australia, hope all the Dad's can cope with the 'soggy breakys' LOL. Cheers, Carmel xx

Wednesday Stamper Stitches

2007-08-26T00:32:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I participated in Wednesday Stamper and I just checked in to have a look and saw this challenge - 'stitches'. I don't use a lot of stitches in my work but recently did it twice! for a Mystery Muse and a swap. Here are my pieces with stitches in them, I hope you like them. Cheers, Carmel xx

Time has flown again

2007-08-24T01:05:00.000-07:00

Oh dear another month has gone by! well it's been quite busy as I now work three evenings a week and I recently did some extra shifts as we were short a body. Also my youngest was sick in hospital for a few days (all well again) and it took a few days to recover from two nights without sleep of any significance. Hubby was also away and is off again next week so time just flits away and the poor old art room had been ignored. I did manage to complete and send my Mystery Muse, by all accounts Genevieve liked it (yay). Below are a couple of pics, my camera batteries needed recharging and I took these pics with the web cam and I'm not sure why but the words are reversed - web cams must take reversed pics??? anyway you can still see (sort of) what was achieved. Hoping to feel inspired this weekend to create, hope you are too!

Dropped off the edge of the world

2007-07-25T03:18:00.000-07:00

Well it's been two months since I posted anything oops! anyone that used to visit probably thinks I have dropped off the edge of the world but no such luck. Can't really account for the time and I am racking my brains as I sit here but we have just had school holidays so that's two weeks LOL. Anyway I have being doing bits and pieces and here are two. The fabric hanging was for Kylie as her Mystery Muse last month and the canvas is for my very good friend Eileen who had a birthday on Sunday. I have also finished my gothic arch pages and will be posting hopefully tomorrow - not going to post here as I want to wait until I get them back. So it's good to be back! off to a card making session tonight with ten other women, now it can't get much better than that can it??? Hope you are all having a lovely week. Cheers, Carmel xxxx

got tagged

2007-05-22T22:29:00.000-07:00

Well, the lovely Dawn tagged me to show a pic of my workspace without tidying up LOL - here tis! cleaning up is something I do in desperation only - had my stamps sorted and now look at them. I've heard it said that the state of your car is indicative of the state of your house, what does this table tell you??? thanks Dawn VERY MUCH! - will have to go forth and tag a few people of my own. Cheers, Carmel xxx

What a week!

2007-05-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well, it full throttle this week. Started with Mother's Day, ah the little darlings were wonderful! breaky and newspaper in bed, mind you Lorcan and Taidgh 'shared' my scrambled eggs/toast!! Taidgh went mad at the Mum's Day stall at school so I have a collection of candles and a pewter fairy and a U2 DVD from Hubby.

Next cab off the rank was Tim's 50th birthday on Wed. He had to go to work as he had to put on morning tea, but he got a big surprise as he got a few pressies and there was even a speech! when he came home we had balloons and a cake and we went out for tea. A proper 'party' is in the planning stage! His big pressie was a new monitor, all 22 inches of it lol, widescreen panel - the big bonus is I get to use it too he he. I did make him a card but.

On the same day as Tim was a friends birthday, Penny. I painted this for Penny who had had a tough year dealing with a serious illness. She is currently in remission and living life to the full. Her coping abilities are amazing and she is doing everything she can to maintain her health. Penny is hugely into yoga and meditation and this painting is for her 'alter' - depicts the chakras but don't ask me to explain it to you

Hey, the week ain't over yet! another very good friend is having a birthday on Sat. Sue is one of my dearest friends, we can talk for hours! Sue is the best person to go partying with, laughing and dancing are big on her agenda and chuck in a few drinkies too! for support in a crisis, Sue's your woman, Suzie Wong, love ya babe xx - I painted this for Sue today, pity I didn't do it yesterday and I would have made Wed. Stamper lol - never mind. Sue loves the ocean/mermaids hence this pic. We went to an exhibition on Friday, Sue's friend Carol Clitheroe is an artist who lives in Rockingham (doesn't have a web sorry) she does amazing paintings and scultures of mermaids/ocean, landscapes - about 60% of the exhibition was sold in the first couple of hours! I can't afford to buy Sue one of Carol's and I certainly can't paint like Carol but hopefully she will like my 'version'. Happy Birthday Sue.

So, that's my week thus far! still have to make cards for the girls and go to work tonight (got a job at the local tavern) figured I need to start paying for my stamp habit lol - still Friday to go and if not working going to a friends house for dinner and have some girlie time. Hope you all have a lovely week whatever you are doing. Cheers, Carmel xxxx

More Musing

2007-05-09T22:55:00.000-07:00

I did this piece about a month ago for Mystery Muse but I didn't get to catch up with it's recipient, Ms. Dawn until last Friday at Jan's. It was too bulky/fragile for the post. Just a little play, de Mengish colours? but I used a collections frame, acetate, krafty lady wings and a polymer lady which I took a mould of from a brooch of mine. The rest is old rusted bottle tops and an old pair of earrings, and a bird with a bottle top nest. It does have a little light show inside which is a set of led's from a flashing angle earring. So it's layers of paint, texture paste, stamps and perfect pearls. It was fun as it just evolved with the frame and an idea of a goddess. Anyway, Ms Dawn says she likes it and that is what matters. It's great when someone gets what you do. Thanks for the pics Dawn, I took some but yours have come out pretty clearly. It's Mother's Day here in Australia on Sunday, wishing all Mum's a lovely lie in and hopefully a breakky you can eat LOL. Hugs, Carmel xxx

Wednesday Stamper

2007-04-28T21:09:00.000-07:00

Haven't done Wednesday Stamper for a couple of weeks and missed some really good themes. This week is 'framed' and whilst again short of time have chosen a piece I did a while ago. This was done at a camp and was heaps of fun. Hugs, Carmel xxx

Mothers Day is coming in Aust.

2007-04-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

Our school is having a Mother's Day stall for the kids - great idea as maybe not all Dad's can take them to town to get Mum a gift or organise a make a gift at home session. The stall is stocked with stuff from about 20c to $2. Kids usually make cards in class so I decided to make bookmarks for the stall. Lots of cute stamping as they have to appeal to kids but I did enjoy the background. I used the 'waxed paper resist' technique - fold or crush wax paper to make a pattern - lay on gloss card - piece of paper on top, hot dry iron - heat transfers the pattern to the gloss card. Then use dye inks applied with a sponge for colour, I also used alcohol inks. This tech I got from the 'twisted chick' blog page as noted by Genevieve on her blog. I got an extra tip yesterday - when you lay the wax paper on the gloss card, place another piece of gloss face down and then a piece of paper and you get two waxed resist pieces at once!! The pic isn't a great one but here goes. Hopefully the kids will like them. I have also been making charms, one their way Julie!! so can't show them here. I now need to start on the charms for camp and a mystery muse and maybe a few ATC trades. Lots to do and I am getting excited about going. Cheers, Carmel xxxxx

Little bit of play

2007-04-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

Well, first week of the school holidays down! hope you are all surviving it lol - have to be quick got to take the little darlings to the movies this morning. Had a play on Friday night with a few girlies and due to the copious amount of excellent conversation all I made was a couple of ATC's inspired by Kelsey's transparent ones, a framed acetate. The embossing was courtesey of Kylie's new cuttlebug beast! Saturday was spent yet again sorting through my stuff - got a new bag with containers in it and of course had to transfer stuff into it - will it ever be done? still looking for the ultimate way of storing my stamps with portability and ditto for my ink pads. Sunday, I had another lovely afternoon with Sulea. This time Sulea was doing Stampscape scenes which she is famous for! I have often been frustrated with trying to sponge on ink without leaving marks, you know that beautiful blending etc. Well, part of it is in the cutting of the sponge! tapering it so you don't have 'edges'. The rest is, you know 'skill' lol which requires patience patience patience, the ability to compose a scene with the stamps and an eye for shading/highlighting/colour combos etc etc - total mindblow. So the first thing to do is......COPY a scene previously done by the master lol - you do need that darn patience as you need to know when to be light fingered and one swipe of the sponge can ruin the whole piece, especially if it's black ink. Anyway here are my first efforts. It was a huge amount of fun and I would love to do it again, and those stamps are to die for. So a huge thank you to Kylie and the girls on Friday and to Sulea on Sunday for the wonderful playtime. Cheers, Carmel xxxx

Wednesday Stamper

2007-03-31T02:42:00.000-07:00

This week's Wednesday Stamper challenge is 'coloured' how you like to use colour. I like alcohol inks very much as there is no 'right way' just go with the flow. This ATC was done with blended alcohol inks on gloss paper and if it looks dark that is because the soot technique was also applied. This tech was demonstrated by our wonderful Kelsey as SAJ some time ago. After applying the ink you hold the paper over a candle to 'soot' it up and then stamp into it. The stamp removes the soot and you are left with a 'resist image'. Lots of fun to do but you must seal it with a fixative or it will smudge. The chain is one I picked up via the Op shop and broke up. Yes, Dawnine this is the ATC you wanted and I've just added a few bits as you can see. On it's way to you shortly. Hope everyone is having a great weekend. And best wishes to PJ and John who are getting married 'in the morning'. Love, Carmel xx

Playdate with Sulea

2007-03-25T17:28:00.000-07:00

Had a lovely afternoon yesterday - went for a painting playdate with Sulea. The peace and quiet was surreal as there was no 'mum mum where are you, I want' etc etc. Love my kids but I do remember TBK ahhhhh. Sulea and I talked painting and how we feel about it and I got to see her recent work in the flesh which is totally amazing, her expression blows me away. Another plus was the pumpkin/pecan cake BTW I need the receipe! so you can guess how much I wanted to come home to the end of the day routine LOL but when your child puts his little arms around your neck and says 'I love you Mummy'....and the bigger one to... well I suppose I'll keep them he he.

Anyway here is what I played with yesterday and last night and just a little bit this morning! it's called Heartfelt Release and I will be sending it to Ireland to a friend who visited last year. Margaret is a special needs teacher who chooses to work in a school in a poorer area as they need her help the most.

I was also thrilled yesterday when Sulea gave me one of her paintings. It's called 'The Loving Space' and words fail me to express how honoured I feel to have a piece of Sulea's work. Check out Sulea's blog shortly to see her what she was working on yesterday, be prepared to be amazed! So I think you will agree that I had a pretty good Sunday. Hope you all have a lovely week. Hugs, Carmel xxxxx

Diamond Eyes for Wed Stamper

2007-03-22T03:51:00.000-07:00

This is a piece I did a while ago but I wanted to have a play on Wednesday Stamper it's called Diamond Eyes - a booklet made out of coreboard and covered with tissue/tape/guaze/alcohol inks/paints/stamped transpariency and a working printed circuit board when you pull the tape it flashes. Anyway it was a fun piece to make, the background was inspired by Trish Bayley's 'textured alcohol ink'.

Cheers, Carmel x

I Love my Postie

2007-03-14T20:56:00.000-07:00

Have you seen those Australia Post adverts about each day of the week and what usually happens on that day? quite clever - well Thursdays are my 'at home' day. Chuck on a bit of washing so we're not up to our eyes on the weekend and maybe even a little ironing, just a little lol - well this Thursday was pretty much following it's atypical pattern when there was a very masculine knock at the door and lo and behold there he was.....the new postie! I have to say it's a new younger model in his 'fitted' postal uniform lol and there I was with unwashed hair, daggy shorts and tee-shirt but I didn't give him a second to be able to recognise me in a line up as I grabbed the parcel and shut the door. A parcel usually can only mean one thing to me - ART GOODIES and oh yeah I was not to be disappointed! drum roll please.....see above the beautiful work of art which I received today. What a talented lady Ms Natalie B is!! this is Nat's 'Portrait of a Lady' canvas, it's got texture paste and the wax gives it a velvety feel and the overall composition if a serene lady in thoughtful repose. I also got Natty's 'Paris Night's' card which is also a stunning piece of work. So you see why I love my new Postie? and why I desire his return he he. Thank you Nat for this beautiful gift, fabulous work girlie.

Hugs to everyone I'm so happy.

Carmel xx

I was inspired...

2007-03-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

At the last SAJ's I was watching the lovely Julie van O making some glass pendants with soldered edges. Got me thinking I have a soldering iron from when I indulged in a little lead lighting some years back. And so I decided to have a go as I wanted to give the teachers who looked after Taidgh when he as injured on school camp. All was going good except when I had to do some travelling to get the right solder! Byford to Cannington to Dick Smiths where I got silver solder (4%) and whilst there managed to pick up some of those glass fuses - 6 in a little box for $1.98! this was good as Bunnings wanted $5 for 2! Thanks Julie I did manage to get the fuses open by heating the top - only broke 2 but when I wanted to solder the jump rings on I realised I needed some liquid flux to make a 'key' for the solder to work even though the silver solder had a core of flux it was not enough to bind - another car trip into Armadale. So what started off as yeah, I'll have a go at that turned into a 80km trip just to get the stuff together - also thanks to Elaine who got me the ball chain which saved me driving on into Vic Park LOL phew - all for a little thank you present but now I have the gear and can keep making stuff. It's all good fun really and it feels so much better when you have made something as a present instead of buying. Wishing you all a happy week. Hugs, Carmel xx

Another day on the blog

2007-03-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

Had a really good time catching up with girlies last night down in Freo (Fremantle). A number of the girls are attending the Art Retreat over the weekend so we had a dinner catch up notably Julie and Sally who have come from down South. More catching up tonight with girls at Stamping at Jan's so a really good finish to the week. Making the most of it as hubby is going to a two day tournament on Sun/Mon so it's me and the kids. Sitting here and the house is completely silent as Lorcan is at kindy for the whole day, it's weird not hearing 'mum'. I didn't have this experience with Taidgh as I was working fulltime back then.

Anyway here is another canvas, yes it's a bit similar to the other but this was started first. I liked the background to I did the birthday in the same vein so I didn't have to extend my brain re the colour combos. I took Nat's left/right brain quiz and it said I was 15% left brain and 85% right brain - now it's nice to be told you have creative tendencies but whoa what it really shows is that I can't walk in a straight line and why I'm tuned out alot lol and why I intend to plan but it doesn't happen (much) - I'm truly the 'last minute wonder' - oh well now I know.

Where does the time go

2007-02-27T22:11:00.000-08:00

Phew, another couple of weeks gone by, quite frankly I don't know what I am doing with my time. Taidgh went off to school camp in Albany (400km from home) and I got that call on the first night - your son has had an accident and is currently being stitched at the hospital. We rang the hospital to see how he was and was told he was 'anxious' whilst being administered local anaesthetic, Taidgh's version was 'Mum, I screamed my head off'. Oh well so would you if you needed 7 stitches on your kneecap if it was split to the bone! it all ended well in that he stayed at camp and made the best of it, he still had a great time and spent all his money on presents for us (and a little something for himself).

We also had a wedding to go to on the weekend, a very good friend Becky who got hitched for the second time - had an appropriate song during the service, 'this time there will be love'. It was wonderful and it was the groom who was teary not the bride! Steve is a lovely man and they looked like love sick kittens! I also had to get Lorcan to a birthday party on the same day, a fairy/wizard do and he had a great time dressing up and playing games. The only art I achieved this week was a canvas for the birthday girl who turned five. This was done in 45 minutes and was barely dry upon handing it over. Feeling under the pump now as the past few kids cards I have done included photos and a few have been kept and framed which is a nice compliment but now everyone wants a photo/layout to keep for their child - what have I started? Hope you are all having a great week. Hugs, Carmel xxx

Art Post this time

2007-02-12T20:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I've been told to post some art! well here tis but it's not exactly new lol. Ok, the canvas was/is for Sharynne for Mystery Muse - don't worry she has already seen it but left it with me so I could scan - mind you the scan isn't great due to it being lumpy and a photo was hard as it had shiny bits and with a flash was a disaster and without, too dark. Now that nice staining on the guys face was done very artistically and don't know if I should share said technique, but as you are friends, here goes!! pour dimensional magic on and when you come back to see if it's dry - voila - staining LOL - just bled through to the ink underneath - but I like it!!

Few weeks ago Nic and I played with Kelsey's soot tech - seeing that it was accompanied by drinkies we did AOK! here are a few samples - we tried different types of paper. Gloss was the best of course but cheap photographic paper was pretty good and I had a matt coated paper and this turned out pretty good too, obviously matt but had a very soft look/feel to it.

So, there you go, a little bit of art - have done and posted my canvas for the altered canvas round robin but we can't share them at this stage. And actually have a couple of things lined up to do! Hope you are all having a good week. We now have sniffles at our house, both boys. I am hoping that Taidgh will be right for camp next week in Albany - look out Julie the Byford boys are coming to town LOL. Cheers, Carmel xx

It's been a while or what LOL

2007-02-11T20:24:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's been a while since I tapped on the keys - have I had anything to say??? not sure, the last few weeks have been a blur. Holidays, well the days drifted one into the other and towards the end hubby took some time off so we did house stuff like buying furniture for the study and moving the family room around. In this reorganisation I gained the filing cabinets in my room as they are metal and the study is now all 'wood' - still not sure how I got conned but there you are! anyway my room is once more a tip and desk space is at an all time low and getting creative has been very difficult. Never stop thinking about stuff but getting it down is a problem. Also the back to school thing has been huge this year as no. 1 son entered Year 7 (last yr. of primary) and no. 2 son started Kindy. Major excitement indeed! one wearing the uniform for the last year and one putting it on for the first time. We also managed to start swimming lessons for Lorcan which were a huge success as he passed stage 1. Lorcan used to have the grip of death on you in the water but now is keen to swim lengths, dive under and as of yesterday was floating without an aid and making good progress in using his arms to do the strokes - so it's an incredible turnaround and I'm still in awe that he has done so much in such a short time. Taidgh is very excited to be Yr. 7 and will be off to camp in a weeks time. He is also going to start keyboard lessons in the near future, is this wise I hear you ask, well at least it's not the trumpet! Anyway here a few pics of our new year start.

More bits

2006-12-10T23:09:00.000-08:00

I have just finished making/sending charms for a charm swap and this spurred me on to make something else lol - the necklace, well I saw something similar in a shop for bigs dollars and thought 'yeah I can do that' (well hopefully) some of the buttons belonged to Tim's Mum and are 40 years old and some came from a friends Mum - both Mum's have passed away so it's nice that they are no longer sitting in a tin. They are quite comfortable to wear and lots of people have commented on them, I added some vintage pics to make them different from the ones in the shop - they used 'new' buttons all the same colour but I like my variety and you can wear it with different colour tops. They earings well had two bits left over so it had to be a pair of eargings - I'm glad I am picking up my new reading glasses tomorrow as it was so hard to thread the needle - the closer stuff is the more blurry it is lol. Might make some more, a friend tells me she has two huges jars of buttons so we might have a buttone necklace day, bring it on. Hugs, Carmel xx

Yummy mail

2006-12-10T22:58:00.000-08:00

Check out this yummy mail - top left is a post-it-note holder from my Mystery Muser - will find out who made this at the end of the month. The other three are ATC's from a Winner Takes All draw that I won on a group based in the states, Altered Art Obsession - top right is a polymer clay beauty from Pearl Moon and the bottom two beauties are from Julie Hetherington down South - others coming from the States in due course - I'm feeling sooooo lucky as this is the second WTA that I have 'won' other one is from a group here in WA, Callingallstampers - must post those for you to see. Also starting to get Christmas post from Ireland - I have sent my 40 or so cards already so now I'm on the receiving end. Friends relatives and my mum's friends including my primary school cookery teacher, Sr. Pius who is now 86 years old but we still exchange cards. Whilst it's hard getting it all together I do love getting all the cards from Ireland. Carmel xx

1" collage has arrived

2006-12-06T21:03:00.000-08:00

Wow - 1" collage is back - thanks to Dotee for hosting and mounting them all, what a huge task. I love this as it is unique and can't wait to see them all on Dot's blog. It was a lot of fun and it's amazing to see what other people do with 1"square of card lol. Thanks to all the participants, I'm thrilled with my piece and I hope you are too. Carmel xx

1" squares are finished woo hoo

2006-11-15T22:22:00.000-08:00

I know this image looks a bit funny - took the pic upside down to avoid shadows and having to move them - rotated it on the computer and it gave this very odd view - hope noone gets vertigo looking at it. So, I am glad that I have finished another swap. This was fun and whilst it sometimes seemed that I wouldn't get to the end when they are all layed together it's not as 'big' as it seemed. Can't wait to get back the mounted version with a sample of everyone's work - we are all different personalities so it will be something to see what thoughts we have in our heads and have put on card lol. Ok Dotee, in the post very shortly - will just recheck what I have to send you. Love to all, Carmel xx

Calendar swap

2006-11-07T16:54:00.000-08:00

I'm in a calendar swap and as you can see I'm doing the month of May. This seems to have taken ages to get going. I had specific thoghts of what I wanted - mystical May, lots of pagan rituals associated with May - fertility, Goddess worship, maypole dancing, queen of May and it's also my birth month and my grandmothers and great aunt. Actually all three of us were born on the same date, Nana and Hannie a few years apart and me two generations later. I have some celtic style stamps but couldn't seem to get the composition right, as in it looked flat and I wanted depth or it took me soo long to do one I was happy with and could not see being able to do that another eleven times lol. Anyway in the end I put time into creating a background and I loved this image of the girl with blue hues - pagan colour - Bealtaine is the old gaelic word for May and the celebrations surrounding it. I think I'm done but not sure - can't have bulky bellies as there are another eleven months and it's not a 'fat calendar'. It will be hung on the wall/door so it can't stick out too much. Ok two more swaps to complete! deadlines fast approaching and I'm also doing the christmas decoration for the kids at playgroup ahhhhgggg help! Have a lovely day. Love, Carmel xx

2006-10-31T22:01:00.000-08:00

What a list!

HAVE YOU:
taken a picture completely naked? no
danced in front of a mirror naked? no
had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back? yes
been arrested? no
seen someone die? yes
kissed a picture? yes
slept in until 5pm? yes
had sex at work? yes, with my husband!
fallen asleep at work? yes
held a snake? yes
ran a red light? no - was that red or organge, actually I recently turned right on a red arrow - nothing coming (obviously)
been suspended from school? no
pole danced? no
been fired from a job? no
sang karaoke? yes
done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? yes
laughed until something you were drinking came out your nose? yes
laughed until you peed? yes
caught a snowflake on your tongue? yes
kissed in the rain? yes
had sex in the rain? no
sang in the shower? yes - all the time
gave your private parts a nickname? no
ever gone to work without underwear? no
sat on a rooftop? yes
played chicken? yes
broken a bone? no
flashed someone? no
mooned someone? no
skinny dipped? yes
shaved your head? yes
slept naked? yes
blacked out from drinking? yes
played a prank on someone? yes
had a gym membership? yes
felt like killing someone? no/yes/no/yes/no/oh maybe
truly hated someone? as above lol
felt like smacking someone in the face? yes - only did it once (at school)
cried over someone you were in love with? yes
had Mexican jumping beans as pets? no - ditto what are they?
been in a band? no
shot a gun? yesshot a bow and arrow? yes
played strip poker? yes
donated blood? yes
ever jump out of an airplane? no
been to more than 10 countries? no - but have flown over them to get here lol

Opheila

2006-10-12T23:10:00.000-07:00

This is my Opheila - quite by accident! a combination of acrylics and oil pastel on watercolour paper applied with the old credit card, everything is scraped on (mostly) and that good old finger lol. Once I had some sky and what looked like water to me it had to have Opheila. She was so tragic, driven mad by a man who couldn't committ! have a nice print of her getting ready for the river in my bathroom (can't remember the artist). I was trying to focus on my calendar swap but it just went this way instead - note to self 'focus'. Having a quiet day at home, Tim had a day off work and has taken the boys 'out'. I have just finished watching Memoirs of a Geisha wrapped in a blanket with coffee and 1 (only 1) TimTam! it's a lovely movie and I really enjoyed the book (obviously more detail in the book) now I feel I should 'do' something and it's not ironing lol - shower, wash my hair and oh yes the calendar swap. Hope you are having a lovely day as well. Love, Carmel xx

Another great painting day

2006-09-26T07:06:00.000-07:00

As you may have read on Nat's blog we had another day at Sulea's painting! Nat, Ann and Giles joined in and there was many a laugh and quite a few oh ahhs and would you ever stick that on!!! lol Sulea is all organised and had been thinking what she would paint over the previous days - the rest of us were making up as we go along - believe me it's good to have your thought processed worked out! as you will see if you visit Sulea's blog - link on the side.
Anyway here are my efforts: The first one is 'I am a free woman' I like strong women who soar above the trees. And the second, well mmmm the images are from Jan van Eyck's The Arnolfini Marriage but I decided by the look on his face he dumped her! and is gone off to seek other fish. I've updated the conversation with 'Yo Babe, gotta fly, can't stay here, don't know why, don't burn that candle I ain't worth it - are you sure the kid is mine'? One day I may have the process worked out but for now....going with the flow.

Cute or what?

2006-09-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

We've had the flu like symptons going round our house for the past month. First Taidgh came down over a weekend and had one day off school - his first in about 3 yrs! then little Lorcan came down for a week - hardly ate and I couldn't believe how the weight fell off him, he is the skinny one in our family....then DH Tim was next to fall and had two days off work, I only had little feelings of being unwell - Tim reckons I am the carrier! Anyway we were free for a few days when poor old Taidgh came down again over the weekend, temps of nearly 40c and by Sunday morning Lorcan was coughing again! now I was all ready to head of to Sulea's for painting session so I dolled out the meds and said see ya honey! when I got home I found them to be aok but Lorcan had had a 2.5hr sleep in the morning and of course DH couldn't resist getting a photo and here it is - doesn't he look sweet even if he's a little under the weather. Since then Taidhg is still coughing and may have to stay home tomorrow but Lorcan is up and running..and eating so he must be ok!

Lost In The Vortex Of My Dreams

2006-09-22T02:51:00.000-07:00

OK - don't even ask - just playing around with a bit more collage - maybe my dream is to have legs like this! - went to The Waterwheel Gallery for lunch today with a couple of friends and had a very quick peek as Lorcan was with me and that is not a good idea in a gallery lol anyway saw the work of a visual artist named Carole Ayres and went WOW (and that wasn't just the prices lol) here is her website www.ayresart.com but I have to say the scans really don't show how amazing her work is - the texture is wonderful and the papers she uses are yum! I was mega impressed and thought yes this is what I would like to do...

Industria ATC/Footy

2006-09-22T02:17:00.000-07:00

Like Nat I am also in the Industria swap and trying to get them finished as I also recently joined a calender swap (can't help myself). Here is what I have been playing with.

What a weekend it's going to be - can we handle the stress/excitement? will we have a Derby Grand Final - when will we wake up and find it's all been a dream. What an achievement for WA footy to have both our teams playing to get into the final - Go Dockers and Eagles.

Urban Angel

2006-09-17T23:02:00.000-07:00

Urban Angel - even urbanites need angels, but they like to be a bit sassy!

Give of yourself

2006-09-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

Having a go...

2006-09-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend? I had a pretty good one - Go the Dockers and the Eagles - the game on Friday was sooooo exciting, Taidgh and I had a wonderful time. Saturday was interesting! a very close friend's sister runs a Spiritualist Church and they held a fundraiser. It was a Victorianna evening in that we had to 'dress up' and had a very Victorian supper. We also sang old old songs like Beautiful Dreamer/After The Ball is Over/Molly Malone etc etc - I knew lots!! there was also then a Mediumship demonstration which I had never wittnessed before except on the telly. This you took on, depending on your beliefs, but it was interesting and some people were very moved by their experiences. After that it there was dancing and the music moved a few decades into the 80's and beyond. It was a great night and being out with good friends is always time well spent. On Sunday I drove over to Sulea's and we had a little play...and here is the result - I only managed one piece as we talked alot! and it was wonderful to see Sulea's work in the flesh. I really enjoyed painting this way as it is so different from what I usually do and would like to combine the two styles as I love the texture ...and the mess lol. Once Lorcan was in bed I was into it again for the rest of the evening - phew what a weekend! it was a good one. Cheers, Carmel xx

Here are the pics - I hope

2006-09-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

Well I keep trying to upload my pics but it just doesn't want to work - maybe too much text lol so keeping it short and sweet, once more with feeling here are pics of art dollies.
Love,
Carmel x

Go the Dockers

2006-09-14T22:34:00.000-07:00

It's yet another Friday yipeee....had an impulsive thought today. I was listening to the news and they said that there were still tickets available for the Dockers game tonight and I said to DH pity you are so sick you could take No. 1 son Taidgh to the game tonight and DH said why don't you go? and I said why not indeed? I love the big sporting events and to actually go to a 'final' is pretty special. I would say my first love is rubgy union having been brought up on it in Ireland and I am even wearing my Munster European Cup winners 2006 tshirt today but I do also love the footy and can even say I am both an Eagles and Dockers fan as I love to see them both succeed. Have a soft spot for Dockers as they are the underdogs. So, just got Taidgh out of school, he had no idea he was going anywhere! it's exciting to leave school early and we had a big day yesterday as it was the school sports day He came 2nd in his race and got a few 1sts in team events and his faction won the school shield for the first time in 18 years!!!! so ....it's big when you are in year 6 and not always been the most sporty kid or picked to be in teams etc. The biggest buzz was that not only could you get tickets online but you can have said tickets sent via email and you print them out WOW I didn't know that - fold the page into a ticket complete with barcode - no queues! or waiting for post - well couldn't post as game is on tonight lol

Well - here are the pics of my doll that I managed to complete at Kelsey's last Sat. Nat has the group shot of all the dolls on her blog here so I won't repeat - not sure where I put it lol. I took another shot of mine and I have since made a second doll - buddha angel, though I don't think she looks very benevolent lol a bit like ' you had better been good cause I'm comin' to collect what's due baby' . It was such a fun day and Kelsey's stuff is unbelievable! she is so talented and so generous and we all love her to bits. I want more play days with you girlies as I learn heaps and have so much fun and our friendships get a little deeper each time - with no family here friends are of immense importance as they are my family.

Well, hope you all have a blast this weekend, take care of yourselves.

Love,
Carmel xoxoxoxo

Sulea's Art Box: Collage - Mother Nature

2006-09-10T21:17:00.000-07:00

Sulea's Art Box: Collage - Mother Nature

Painting pics

2006-09-08T01:25:00.000-07:00

This area of paperarts was thrust upon me a couple of years back, can't believe how the time has flown. A friend, Eileen decided to go to a cardmaking class being run by another friend from school aka Elaine B and I was dragged along. Up until then I was quite happy going to my folkart class and spending very little money for paint/brushes/boards and the odd magazine. A tube of paint lasts a long time lol. It was such a hoot as I can remember trying with great difficuly to mark up borders for cards and use the cutting mat/knife/bone scorer etc etc oh and a heat gun - what a laugh. Well it went on from there and I have gone on from a trolley full of painting gear to a room full of crafting gear! and the money side has truly gone into orbit - my new credit card came today thank God as the old one is bent and the signature is barely visible! Anyway here a few of my paintings - not very arty subjects at all - mostly acrylics on board or canvas board. Will load others later.
Hope you all have a lovely weekend, going to an artdolly day tomorrow. Should be wonderfull though me and little beads could be interesting - keep the brush and pan handy for all the dropies on the floor.
Cheers,
Carmel xx

TGIF again

2006-09-08T00:58:00.000-07:00

Well, it's TGIF again. Hope everyone's week has been good. We have had the flu in our house, Lorcan went down on Sunday night and we have been 'at home' all week. No kindy or playgroup, confined to barracks! I've had a loan of the Tim Holtz dvd's and have had a good time watching those and trying to absorb a few tips. Really liked some of the stuff he does and the way he goes about it - my hubby wanted to know how an area which seems truly dominated by women has a bloke making possibly the most money out of it??? it's typical isn't it LOL. Food, fashion, creativity and the blokes get all the fame/money/leadership. I'm toying with the idea of Christmas tags this year - just don't want to make cards and here is my first. Bit grunge as I have used the 'industria' look for the background, can't see the overseas list putting it on their trees lol but it's a start. The key is one I made using France's mould. I usually make cards that have a recent photo of the boys so relatives/friends in Ireland can see how they've grown so o/s ones will probably be 'sweet' (ugh). I have about 40 to make as it's not just the relatives I have to send to my Mum's friends as they have become mine over the years as they always remember us at Christmas including my primary school cookery teacher, Sister Pius - she is 84 now and has my boys photos in her room. Everytime I have gone to Ireland we have to go and see here. Lovely old dear but as sharp as a tac and looks like she is in her sixties. A Nun's live has been kind to her and she was a lovely teacher, fond memories. Can't say that about most of them LOL.

ATC #3 Big Day Out

2006-08-31T20:28:00.000-07:00

As you would have heard ATC#3 was a fantastic day, Julie & Co. organised a great day except they couldn't have know that the road system changed since last Feb and everyone got lost! you used to turn left but now have to go right on a huge new roundabout and turn right into what was a left??? it was weird to picture it in your head - Elaine and I drove up/down/up but eventually got there - phew! Of course we stayed for the whole session, right until the community centre caretaker came by to chuck us out! no way could I have packed up and gone before the end - it would have to be for nothing less than brain surgery! Was having such a good time yakking/looking/shopping I only made a total of 9 ATC's LOL and tried out Julie's industria tech - some very cool pieces made.

Lorcan has been invited to 3 parties over two weekends - one of them a double header and 2 of the parties on the same day - 2 hours apart and in two McDonald's in two suburbs! I suddenly have to make some cards and I'm not one for cute/kid style stamps - help! made two cards, which seemed to take ages and they have turned out like mini scrapbook pages - do you think? I had the pics from playgroup session - only two more to make!

TGIF - and the first Friday of the month, so Stamping at Jan's tonight - I do enjoy this catch up with bods - now I only have to decide do I play or do the washing???? mmmm might try a combination. Oh I just remembered I need to make another card, adult one this time.
Well, hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
Cheers,
Carmel xx

Good Mail Day

2006-08-28T05:32:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to share the great mail day! got the most beautiful art doll today from my Mystery Muse - could hazzard a guess at it's creator but will wait until she is revealed at the end of the month. I just love her - Census is her name in honour of my recent memoirs! I am so pleased to have a dolly - it's been a long time since I had a dolly of my own - only have boys so dolls are not seen in this house once the toddler years are over. Though Lorcan spent a lot of time last week playing with the baby dolls at playgroup.
It was also a great weekend as I went to ATC #3 Continumn - what a blast! fabo bunch of girls and lots of ohhing and ahhing over other people's work - great demos from Julie and Kelsey. I even made 9 ATC's and one 'industria' piece, which I have yet to scan - will do so shortly. I also managed to spend some money on yummy Collections bits and got some German Scrap and Twinkling H2O's via Jen. Julie was as generous as usual, we all got a great kit of Collections items and a piece of rubber in a lovely tin and they was a few freebie bits as well. In all a huge day/night and I was well and truly knackered the next day, even had to have a nana nap in the afternoon! Roll on Friday as it will will Stamping at Jan's and we can have a debrief - ain't live grand!

It's Finally Over

2006-08-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

Well you'll be please to know that the census is finally over for me anyway - handed in my books/paperwork and id card woohoo! only some more money to come and that I don't mind. I will also now stop talking about it aswell!!! now back to some playtime in my room. I am finding collage really hard at the moment, maybe I'm thinking too much about it or looking at too many books/mags as I then don't want to do what they have done. I love backgounds but then find it hard to cover them. I spent Sunday playing with some big puzzle pieces and only managed to complete one for a Mystery Muse and the other is on the desk, background created and an image ready but can't cover the rest and yet one image doesn't seem enough. Where will it end?? can see lots of things in my head before I go to sleep but at the desk I get lost. Oh well, hope some of you guys are going to ATC3 on Sat??? great to catch up and have a whole day/night to play - now to pack.....

2006-08-07T01:28:00.000-07:00

Weird - I uploaded the pics with the last post but they did not appear - trying again!

Memoirs of a Census Officer

2006-08-07T00:41:00.000-07:00

Well, have not been on for a bit due to the fact I signed up to be a Census Officer! there I was thinking -' nice little bit of play money' I can tell you that money does not pay you to visit 350 houses and say the same thing over and over again. Or try to convince people to do it online, I can't believe how many people are afraid of their own computer!! haven't heard of one biting yet - On the subject of biting (a few people know this already) in the course of my duty as CO I was attacked and bitten on the ankle by a fairly large dog, which also goes a long way as to why I am 'over it'. I could not do this as a permanent thing. I have met loads of lovely people and have been told lots of stories but it's also been sad to see so many lonely people (especially the elderly). But I have met a few mongerels as well. My other dramas include, being locked into a property by a faulty electronic gate and had to be rescued by a neighbour (no one home), got out of the car and whilst scanning for dogs nearly bumped into a huge ram; had a loose horse gallop by the car and block the exit gate; one very racist old man ramble on and on and have been smelt by at least 400 dogs - sometimes 3 at a time - so if you ever think that you might do this - DON'T - I am also completly exhausted as physically it was/is pretty hard - when you do it for 6/8 hours at a time. Oh well only the collection phase to look forward to! I have 'sold' the online census so much I think I could sell icebergs in Antartica and have reduced my callbacks quite a bit and hopefully more will roll in. It's been so full on I have not had any time to 'play' though I worked by rear end off and took Saturday off to go to the craft fair in Claremont. Had a great time as I met quite a few bods from Stampgropers etc and the stalls weren't too bad either. The Thread Studio was the best for me and was very happy to pick up some stamps and attend one of their workshops - embossed velvet tag book. I also learnt a new technique from Jeanette at the Stamp Trap and tried it out Sat night - see microscope slideholder - which I have done for my Mystery Muse shhh this is late! but I know she will be cool with that. I like this effect as it looks like it is lit up. How to??? well Jeanette used 'window plastic' (aceate) but I used glass microscope slide - stamp (stazon) images on glass and on the other side drag ink pad (ancient page) to colour (could use alcohol inks?) then drizzel diamond glaze and smear, sprinkle white glitter and let it dry (heat gun but very carefully) then highlight areas with gold crylon pen, then drizzel more diamond glaze and get some tinfoil, crush it up and flatten (not smooth) and stick on the back and trim. Jeanette layered onto gloss card for mounting on a card if you used aceate but as you can see I glued it into the slideholder. What do you think - made a couple of others in different colour backgrounds but the foil lights it up - kind of fake alcohol inks/foiling??? So pass on the message - do your Census online and save your CO the callback - not getting paid enough to be smelt/bitten/or spoken to as if you are an ASIO agent. Cheers, Carmel xoxoxo

Start of my Altered Book

2006-07-23T05:03:00.000-07:00

The other part of this weekend has seen the start of my altered book. I have done the first two pages called 'Reach Out' and Brave Women of their Time'. I'm using water soluble oil pastels to create the backgrounds and overstamping with Stazon. Also using my broken stylus to 'scratch' designs/words/drawings into the crayon. I'm trying to get a fixed idea before I start and even made some notes! when doodling I am always drawing eyes so I figured I would use an eye image on each page as in what do mine eyes see but I am already stressing! about how it looks. I have looked at other peoples work but don't want to 'copy' ideas/layouts etc so I am finding it hard. I feel it looks a bit 'grungy' and would love to be able to produce something beautiful/flowing but when I start I am impatient to get it finished, I'm the same with painting - I want it finished. I need discipline and find I need to walk away or I will just 'finish it' and then be sorry. So give me an honest opinion, I can take it!!!

Cool Weekend

2006-07-23T04:25:00.000-07:00

Well the weekend is almost over... and only one more day of school holidays! of course all the ironing is left to the last day but this is completely normal and I know is replicated everywhere (will keep telling myself that!). It's been quite hetic had visitors Thurs and Fri therefore had to do housework both days, now that's not normal! and a Stampin Up demo Fri night and of course I had to buy a stamp. Sat. I took Lorcan (3.5yrs) for a long bike ride while Tim and Taidgh went to the movies, my rear end was quite sore even though we were on flat road but it was lovely. Sat night I finished this piece - used my Collections Tile/frame set. It's for a very good friend, Ruth, who was very kind to me a few weeks ago and took me to the Human Nature concert where we had a ball. As she wouldn't let me pay for the ticket I decided to make her 'something'. I have mounted it onto a woven table mat and I will get or make a timber frame for it. Some of the images will mean specific things to Ruth. Hope she likes it.

what a great day

2006-07-20T01:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a good old day, surviving the second week of the school holidays. Had some good friends over for lunch today with kids in tow - it was loud and they seemed to move in a blur, imagine if we as adults all moved like kids??? how do we loose that energy.

Here are some pics of work I completed recently. Love backgrounds and texture. These are based on a technique by Trish Bayley and include 'glad wrap/tissue/masking tape/gauze'.

Oh the rain has come to Perth! the garden has been gasping for a drink.

First words

2006-07-18T08:37:00.000-07:00

Just to get started, hello world. One minute dot adding to create the big picture. Feel weird doing this, but going to give it a whirl. When organised will add some images of art etc.

Cheers,
Carmel

Just Sharing

Jeez more jewellery and retreat

Mixed Media Monday

WS newspaper

More bits and a couple of swaps

New Jewellery

another post.....within a week

I can't believe.....

Wed Stamp Children

Blow me down (and my trumpet)

WS Fish etc

WS Tryptich

Mulberry Paper Wed Stamper

WS Blue

Wednesday Stamper Stitches

Time has flown again

Dropped off the edge of the world

got tagged

What a week!

More Musing

Wednesday Stamper

Mothers Day is coming in Aust.

Little bit of play

Wednesday Stamper

Playdate with Sulea

Diamond Eyes for Wed Stamper

More Yummy Post

I Love my Postie

I was inspired...

Another day on the blog

Where does the time go

Art Post this time

It's been a while or what LOL

More bits

Yummy mail

1" collage has arrived

1" squares are finished woo hoo

Calendar swap

Opheila

Another great painting day

Cute or what?

Lost In The Vortex Of My Dreams

Industria ATC/Footy

Urban Angel

Give of yourself

Having a go...

Here are the pics - I hope

Go the Dockers

Sulea's Art Box: Collage - Mother Nature

Painting pics

TGIF again

ATC #3 Big Day Out

Good Mail Day

It's Finally Over

Memoirs of a Census Officer

Start of my Altered Book

Cool Weekend

what a great day

First words