Disney Trip Post

I've been doing some catch-up posts these past few days. I think this is the last of those - but certainly the biggest. I had a conference to attend at the Walt Disney World Resort from November 9 - 14. It just happened to be in the magical overlap period between the end of the Epcot Food and Wine Festival (which I was lucky enough to attend last year in celebration of my birthday while Gayle and her friend Debbie went to a conference), much of the Disney holiday activities, and the three day Festival of the Masters which brought my coolest purchase of the trip (more on that a bit later).

We arrived on Tuesday afternoon and headed to the hotel. We set out for a walk over to Hollywood Studios to pick up some tickets. Gayle picked up the tickets while I shot the big Christmas tree.

My conference ran from Wednesday through Friday but we had some extra time to kill in the evenings. We managed a delicious dinner at Shula's restaurant - which we hadn't eaten at before and an evening at the Food and Wine Festival with my aunt Idris and uncle Ron who were in Florida at their winter place for a few weeks. I got the best recording of Illuminations fireworks I've ever gotten that night.

After the conference ended, Gayle and I spent a few extra days, including a return trip to the Food and Wine Festival where we enjoyed the Sweet Seats at the "3D Disney's Dessert Discovery".

We also spent a day at Hollywood Studios - which neither of us had done for a while. We enjoyed Rockin' Roller Coaster, the new Toy Story Mania ride (although I really don't get why that ride is the crazy draw that it is) and the revamped Star Tours. We took a break in the afternoon and went back in the evening to see the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights which I'd never done before.

Sadly, I picked up a cold while we were there - which in our normal fashion Gayle then developed after we returned from the trip. So, our visit to Festival of the Masters was a bit short as was our visit to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Short doesn't mean we didn't pack in quite a bit of fun though.

Love that Pluto was front and center in the official logo of the festival.  Festival of the Masters is where I bought my souvenir of the trip - an awesome underwater photo of an Elephant similar to the one linked there shot by one of my now favorite artists, Christopher Guglielmo.

Very Merry Christmas Party was a neat experience and the special Holiday Wishes show - as well as the lighting of Cinderella's Castle was beautiful.


All in all, a wonderful trip and it definitely helped put me in the holiday spirit!

On the hunt...an HDR adventure

I saw my friend Diana at a conference in Indianapolis a week ago last Wednesday. I was hoping that she'd have a good idea for somewhere we could go shoot pictures together while I was on my extended visit to the farm. Luckily, she was up for the adventure and had a place in mind. She invited another friend, Dianne along - and last Saturday, the three of us set out for a drive up Highway 1 in search of an old abandoned schoolhouse the two had seen on a previous drive. It was on the corner just south of Highway 26 and it certainly did not disappoint.

Diana has been taking some gorgeous shots and processing them with HDR techniques lately so I grabbed my tripod and decided to do the same. My favorite shot of the day is this one - which wasn't HDR. I just love that you can see the sky through the second window since the roof has collapsed.

My favorite HDR shot of the day has to be a toss-up between this one of a pile of junk (which isn't much of a shot - but trust me - it's way better as HDR than it was in real life) and the following one looking into the window of the school. Diana suggested the pile of trash shot - and she was right - it does make the colors pop out so much more.

We also grabbed a few shots of a round barn on our way to the school.

I really liked the roof detail.

And the nails...

Diana and I talked after we shot all of these and both agreed it is hard to get a good picture of a round barn.
We did get permission to shoot both of these before going on the property - a must for any photography shoot. It was such a tremendously fun day!

The sewing machine

Almost two years ago now, I bought a sewing machine for myself with Christmas money (thanks mom and dad!). I was sure I was going to sew up a set of pillows for the couch and some new window sheers for the back door. However, the sewing machine never made it out of the box - it just sat there in its space in the studio - until about ten days ago.

See - tape is still on the top!

I had the same aversion to taking the sewing machine out of the box that I did to using my stitching templates that I blogged about here. However - after my success with the stitching templates, I decided to get the sewing machine out of the box to make some cute stitched note cards I had seen on the Internet (and my apology to whoever made them - I can't for the life of me remember where I saw the idea).

Mine ended up being about 4 x 6" when they were done and I snipped off the ends a bit too close to the edge of the paper so I had to make sure I used plenty of matte medium on the edges where you can see some loose threads. You can do any size you want though and wouldn't necessarily have to do the lines quite as neatly as I tried to do mine.

To make them you're going to need:

• sewing machine
• blue thread
• pinkish/red thread
• piece of heavy paper or cardstock (I used watercolor paper) in the size you want.

The process is pretty simple.

I measured down about 7/8" from the top of the paper to get the characteristic thicker area at the top of the piece of paper.  That's where I stitched my first row.

I found that half the width of the full presser foot on the sewing machine was about the right width to stitch the lines at.

I added my pink line after all the blue lines were added.  This was at about 3/4" from the left side of the paper.  

I snipped my loose threads.

Since this was just a test piece I added it to my journal with writing for that day on it (I didn't take a photo of that though - sorry).  I'm now a bit obsessed with stitching on paper and have a couple of fabric projects in the works too I'll share a bit later.

And, just because I've not posted a photo of her in a while...Fluffy was truly enjoying the few days that Lindsay stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's in between my trips so she had mommy and the house all to herself - isn't she gorgeous!  Her personality has changed so much since Dippy passed away - she wants so much more attention now.

Fresh Waffles

Being at the farm usually puts me in the mood to cook. I think it's the combination of having someone to cook for and having so much extra kitchen space. Mom mentioned that she had some whole wheat flower to make rolls with (which we've not ended up having to make) so I suggested we use some of it up with some waffles using my favorite recipe from Alton Brown. I've done both these and his Chocolate Waffle Recipe (which Gayle and I did a side-by-side comparison of one day) and there was just no comparison - the regular waffles were just way better (and when you add some mini chocolate chips to the batter and chocolate syrup over them - they are far more chocolatey than the chocolate waffles. (But I digress).  Mom had also picked up some fresh blackberries so I soaked those in about a 1/4 cup of sugar since yesterday afternoon and then brought them to a boil with about a 1/2 cup of simple syrup (1/2 c water and 1/2 c sugar) then turned it down and let it reduce while the waffles were being prepared.  Add a little butter and you have warm, delicious yumminess that was fabulous.  (I do doctor Alton's recipe just slightly by adding just a bit of nutmeg and about a teaspoon of cinnamon).

We caught some early morning sunshine this morning and grabbed a couple of other HDR shots (I have a whole post on my HDR photography adventure with Diana and her friend Dianne coming soon).  I wasn't really happy with my results this morning, but this shot with the frosty grass and the fog peaking up over the gravestones and the highway in the break in the trees wasn't too bad.

While the light wasn't great for the HDR shots I was going for, it was pretty good for capturing a few shots of my beautiful girl. We had a bit of a wonky night of sleep - made worse by the fact that Lindsay has a sore leg. It seems like every time she stays with Grandma and Grandpa we require a trip to the vet afterwards for some ailment. This time, it's a sprained ankle according to Dr. Jeff - the vet that mom and dad use (and I used before I moved). Was good to see him and hopefully Lindsay will start to feel better soon.

Making my own stamps

I have been thoroughly enjoying Julie Balzer's 30 Days in your Journal class. In one of the daily videos for the class, Julie used a filmstrip stamp that was really cute.  She always offers alternatives to materials if you don't have them and she suggested that you make a stamp.  I have always wanted to do this, but had no idea how to do it.  I picked up a quick online mini workshop from Alisa Burke (whose art and style I always love) and in just a few minutes I was carving my own stamps.  I started with the filmstrip stamp that Julie had suggested.

In this photo you can see a little box up in the top right that I started with - just to get the hang of things.  Basically, you dig out the parts of the stamp material where you don't want the image to touch the ink pad (you can buy some here that is pink along with a couple of simple tools - mine was the same basic kind - just grey - Speedball Speedy Carve Stamp Making Kit).

At first, I thought it would be really hard, but it was - as are most crafts - much easier than I anticipated and highly therapeutic.

As you can see from the first picture, I didn't stop at the filmstrip.  I added three different wine bottles (a benefit of making your own stamps - you can add all sorts of variations that you want), a wine glass, a flower, a butterfly, and a paint brush.

Since I was coming home to the farm, I worked with dad to cut wood bases for each of the stamps on the band saw, sand them down to make them comfortable in my hands, and then applied the stamp the wood with contact cement.  Given how expensive a stamp is in the store - yet how inexpensive the stamp material is to buy, I've already paid for the supplies and the class just in the six seven stamps I've already made. Julie Balzer, oddly enough, had a tutorial on making a chevron stamp on her blog earlier this week if you want a simple idea with some nice pictures to get you started.

What crafty idea has amazed you at how easy it is?  If you make a stamp, I'd love to have you share it with me in the comments.

Happy Thanksgiving!

By the end of this weekend, I will have had two traditional Thanksgiving meals.  However, for lunch today mom, dad, and I celebrated with what I called Thanksgiving deconstructed.  We had turkey sliders with homemade sweet potato fries (both sweet and savory).  YUMMY!!!

We spent this evening at my sister Susie's house for the first of our two traditional Thanksgiving meals.  It was wonderful to visit with Ashley, her beau Matt, Andrew, and his friend Daniel.  Matt lives here, but the rest of the kids are home from college - always nice to have them here.  Andrew and I spent some time teaching each other the respective skills of knitting and crocheting - as each of us has only one in our repertoire.  Susie's birthday was Sunday and when she walked into mom and dad's house to enjoy some popcorn with us she showed off the scarf Andrew had knitted for her.  Mom, dad and I shared chuckles and knowing glances as I handed her the bag that held the scarf I had crocheted for her.  At least she'll stay warm this winter!

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!   

Sweet seats at Epcot

Sweet seats at Epcot,
originally uploaded by kicki22.

Sweet seats at Epcot

It's Christmas at Disney

It's Christmas at Disney,
originally uploaded by kicki22.

It's Christmas at Disney

Some Creative Gratitude

As I was working on the journal page I shared yesterday, I ran across my stitching guides - a set of plastic templates I picked up a long time ago (photos below).  I don't think I have actually ever used them though.  I have that problem with some supplies - I think it will take a long time to use them so I shy away from them.  This was really very quick though - entire element probably took about ten minutes to make - and that included the drying time for my water colors.  I have been using this art journaling practice as a time to try things, fail at things, and just generally develop a more creative and experimental spirit.

I'm glad I did because it made me run across this needle.  Why, you ask, is a needle important?  Well, the actual needle isn't all that important at all - but the card that it was tucked into in my box of supplies - well that's got my Grandma Monroe's handwriting on it.  You see, it was her needle, and, like many of her crafting tools, I've kept them for all of these years.  They are tucked into index cards, Tic Tac containers (she loved these for storing needles), and even a few original packages with her note of how much she paid for it written on it - usually when she got a really good deal!

Grandma Monroe and I had a somewhat strained relationship when I was a little girl.  We didn't show how we loved one another in the same ways.  As an adult though, I spent the last year and a half of her life living in her home - sometimes wondering who was taking care of who - and enjoying her stories and her love of crafting.  Where the love of all things crafty grew from in me is no secret - it was very clearly my Grandma Monroe.  I think of her often when I sit in my studio - my favorite picture of her is on my inspiration board that sits at the back of my desk - she and my nephew Andrew on her last Christmas with us.  I don't know if you can tell from the can - but the looks on both of their faces are absolutely beautiful.  She would be SO INCREDIBLY PROUD of that young man if she were still with us.  She would have celebrated her 105th birthday last week! I am so thankful for her legacy in my life.

Now, as promised, a tutorial on how I did the stitched piece - and if you don't have stitching guides like the ones I have - don't worry - I've got a substitution idea for that - as well as just about everything else I used.  To create this, I used:

• watercolor paper (you could use regular paper, cardstock, and I'd love to try this on actual cross-stitch or other fabric and paint it - will have to give that a go sometime)
• watercolor paints (a non-waterproof marker/pen and water on a q-tip works well too, also regular markers or any other kind of paint or color)
• stitching guides (or print the words in a favorite font in Microsoft Word and poke holes through that at appropriate stitching points)
• a punching tool (a really thick needle like my grandma's rug needle or an awl)
• stitching needle and embroidery floss or thread (I used two strands of embroidery floss that I doubled over - so it's four strands in total)
• any embellishments you want to add

Stitching on paper isn't new - and probably isn't even that cool anymore - but I liked the technique - so here is the step by step:

1. Mark the position of where your holes will go that you will sew through. Punch through the paper at those spots. (BTW - my stitching template is from Bazzill Basics if you can't see that in the photo below - they appear to still make such things - you can see a selection here)

Penciled in stitching holes

Poke through the holes - poke from the front of the piece to the back.

2. Apply your watercolor or other color and then let dry (you can speed things along with a heat gun or blow dryer - but make sure to test that out on a test swatch first so you don't get bubbling or something else you don't like when the heat hits the paint)

You can see I was using a piece of paper that I have done other stuff on - I keep test pages like this at my side and often end up incorporating those little "what if I try this" swatches into journals or other art work.

3. Start your needle and floss through the first hole, stopping with about a 1/2" of floss left on the back side. Add some tape to secure the floss to the back side - being careful to NOT tape over any holes (you can pierce through the tape with the needle - but it makes the floss sticky and more likely to knot up).  I added a close up of the first image (sorry it's fuzzy) to help you see a little better)

Start from the back of the page and pull the floss through to the front for that first stitch...I didn't take a photo of the back, but when it's all done - the back won't look like anything :-)

4. Stitch the image. I decided to go with a running stitch - if you don't sew that often (or just want to see a really pretty art journal page) - take a look at this gorgeous art journal page from Jane LaFazio when she was doing a guest post on Alisa Burke's blog. I think seeing that page is what inspired me to find my stitch templates.

A couple of tips:

• The floss seems to get more kinked than it does when it's going through fabric so you may need to stop every so often, hold the page with the needle just dangling off of it and let the floss spin a bit to get those twists out.
• Cut the floss and move t the next word rather than going a really long distance on the back.  If you do go a long distance on the back, use some tape to strengthen the page along that distance.  It's better to move the floss to a new starting point - otherwise your page might buckle.

5. Add embellishment if desired. I have NEVER been able to make a french knot on fabric - the only thing I was doing on paper was making a bigger hole - so I gave up and used some sticky jewels instead. (Added bonus: No frustration AND pretty sparkles all at once :-)

Because the piece has stitches on the back you'll most likely need glue dots or some other sort of thicker adhesive to put it on the page and it won't lay perfectly flat.  If you are inspired by the idea, I'd love to see your work - drop a note in the comments!

Journal Page and Elements

This is my second finished layout from Julie Balzer's "30 Days In Your Journal" class - which I am completely loving (the class - although the page is pretty great too).  The timing of this class with Deb's "30 Days of Thanks" project was appropriate because it's causing me to focus a lot of my journaling and art - which is also causing me to pick up the camera more regularly and grab some photos.  I love looking at close up photos of people's journals - and of talking my own.  I think it's the bokeh (blurring) you get around the edges since I think a lot of people use a really low aperture when capturing these photos so you get this really soft look around the edges.

So, now for a few closeups...

I have this quote in a wall cling that I will put up if I ever get the studio painted. It's appropriate for what I was journaling about though so I decided to add it to the page. I love quotes - you can see my collection on my Tumblr page (there is a link to it at the top of the page). I've never had a hang up about using my own handwriting on a page - it's part of the history.  [And...thanks mom for making me sit and write every day after I got less than perfect marks in handwriting in third grade...too bad we no longer teach penmanship to kids - a tragedy in my opinion.]

Close up on the left side before I journaled. The "What It Is" graphic on the left was made with stamps and some embossing powder - and my orange sharpie (after I found it). It says "It Is What It Is" all the way around the image in orange sharpie and then red sharpie. I use that phrase a lot.

The right side with that stitched paper element - which I love - and will post about how I did it tomorrow.

Do you have a journaling practice (even if it's just a daily tweet)?  I love to know how people record their own personal histories.

Life's a Remix

Where do you draw your inspiration from? I've been thinking a great deal lately (and - well - for a good part of my career) about sources of inspiration, creativity, and copyright.  As I've taken classes from a number of creative people - who make a living from their creativity and production of their creative work - people like Alisa Burke, Julie Balzer, Amy Tan, and others - I hope that I've gained a deeper appreciation for respecting their work.

That's why the conversation around Pinterest that has been going on lately in creative circles has caught my attention.  If you've not used Pinterest before, it is a social bookmarking tool.  Not sure what that is?  Well, it's a way to grab different bookmarks that you like and share them with your circles of friends, colleagues, etc.  What makes Pinterest different from other social bookmarking tools is that it boils the references of the page down to a single image, so what you see on Pinterest is something like what you see below - a page of Julie Balzer's that I pinned recently.  You put "pins" together on "boards" - like this one of art journal page ideas I like.

P

Source: balzerdesigns.typepad.com via Kara on Pinterest

I offer this up with the art journal page shot above (and the one below) because, I know that this was an idea I saw from someone else in some blog I read. I can't remember who - and I didn't pin it. The idea of using words and lines - in a single pen stroke (that's really just one big long line all around the page with very few breaks) came from someone else. The funny thing about it, I can't remember where because I didn't actually pin it - it just stuck in my head as an idea of something I wanted to try. Sadly, though, I can't give credit to the person who inspired it because I can't find the reference.

 As a faculty member who not only reads a lot of student work, but one who also works with faculty members who produce classes where they don't often think about crediting the intellectual property of some of their peers when building assignments and other activities, copyright is a natural part of my livelihood - so it's something I think about regularly.  If I see a beautiful photo of the reflection of fall color in a lake (taken by my friend Diana) and then go out and also capture an image of fall color reflected in water, is that stealing? Is it wrong? Of course not.  And did Diana "steal" from me because I actually took mine first - of course not.  If either Diana or I tried to pass the other one's image off as our own or - worse - tried to profit from the sale of the other's image, then that is wrong.

Why does this matter enough to me, now, to blog about it?  Because I'm considering changing up what I cover on the blog next year and going deeper into some of the other things I do like tutorials I've written and will write, videos I've created and will create, and documents I've produced and will produced - and I'm thinking about releasing them free of traditional copyright - with a Creative Commons attribution rather than a traditional copyright notice.  I do believe that Everything is a Remix (great video below from these fine folks) and I'm trying to decide just how much freedom I want to give to the public with my own intellectual property.  Thoughts on copyright, sharing, and intellectual property in the age of social bookmarking, facebook, twitter, and all things shareable?  I'd love to know your thoughts.

Moments of Gratitude

My friend Deb is sponsoring a "30 Days of Thanks" project at her beautiful blog, Learning As I Go.  For the last week I've been trying to incorporate some thoughts on gratitude and thankfulness in my art journal.

Yesterday morning, I woke up with a relaxed day ahead of me. I knew I would be spending some time in the studio playing around with my art supplies and practicing some of the cool techniques I've seen in Julie Balzer's 30 Days In Your Art Journal Class.  I wanted to finish some lettering on my It Is What It Is piece I had worked on on Friday night so I could add it to the journal page, but I couldn't find my orange sharpie (seen above in its rightful place after the search concluded).

Don't get me wrong - I have at least three other orange writing instruments - but I wanted that sharpie.  

Now, if you're still reading, you might be thinking - what in the world does this have to do with thanks and gratitude?  Well, the search for that pen...which resulted in me cleaning up my work table completely...which lead to me finding two other supplies I had been thinking about using in my journal but had forgotten about until I came upon them again...which lead to three hours spent devoted solely to creativity...which let me relax and get a load of work done...which let me relax while my sister was here last night so we got to chat and enjoy each other's company.  We are two hard-working women always on the go.  We rarely get to just spend an evening visiting.  

So, I am grateful for the opportunities over the last few days to enjoy my creative side, a quiet Saturday spent relaxing and catching up on all the little tasks of life maintenance, and ... most importantly ... for relaxing moments with family.

Sunny Saturday

Today was a gorgeous day in Indiana.  We spent a good bit of time in the studio today.  Fluffy had the best time of all.  Just after this photo shoot she went fully belly up and enjoyed a nice rubba da belly.

I did lots of art today.  I've got several posts to share over the next few days about various art projects, gratitude, and a number of other things.

We're now waiting on my sister Susie to join us for the evening which will be a nice opportunity to visit.  I have to spend a good bit of time tomorrow working and prepping for a number of upcoming tasks this week.  This week, I'm looking forward to taking part in One Day on Earth.  The project is an opportunity to document your part of the world on 11-11-11.

I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

In the footsteps of history...

I visited Philadephia for the first time to attend the annual Educause conference from October 9 - 14.

This was my first visit to Philadephia - and overall I wouldn't say that I enjoyed the city.  Of course, I was coming off of the loss of Dippy and I fought a bit of a cold most of the week, but overall I just found the city dirty and I never felt safe walking by myself - except maybe in the historic area.  I feel very comfortable in Chicago, DC, and other large cities so it's not just that it was a big city - the city just felt as though there were too many people rambling about without any purpose.  That said, I was truly inspired by the historic area.  As with most conference trips that I don't extend (like this one), I only had about four hours to really play tourist so I chose to focus on the historic area and only got a brief glimpse of the museums.

The above photo isn't amazing or special from a photographic perspective, but it was a photo that captured a moment - a feeling - one of...Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George Washington stood in this same spot and walked along this same path.  That connection to the founding of this great nation was amazing to me.  I took the tour of Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell before heading off on a narrated bus tour around the city that took me back up to the museum area.  I would have liked to visit the Rodin Museum - but it was closed for renovation so perhaps on a future visit I'll spend time in the museums and enjoy the city a bit more.

I did enjoy a lovely dinner with my coworker Kristen at a tapas restaurant called Amada and a lovely dinner with some other colleagues at Sole Food in the beautiful Loews Hotel.

The room where our Declaration of Independence and Constitution were drafted.

The tools to form the most amazing nation on earth!

The Liberty Bell.  I liked this photo that captured the outline of Independence Hall behind it - my photos of Independence Hall weren't great because of all the renovations going on at the moment, but this was a decent perspective. 

A new museum in the historic area...the National Constitution Center

I am awed by the life of Ben Franklin - wish I'd had time to explore the Franklin Institute.

William Penn atop city hall (I took this to capture one of the lovely murals around town.

There are some lovely places to see if you're in Philly.  Definitely stop at Reading Terminal Market for lunch and a fun exploration.  And there is a mural tour as well as lots of historic tours/experiences you could do.  And, while I spent the majority of my time at the Convention Center which was filled with some great art - which you are apparently not allowed to photograph even though there are no signs posted and absolutely no policies against it on their web site - which I checked before I went.  However, every time I pulled out my camera yet another of the ever present staff of the convention center was there to tell me I couldn't take photos - grrr!  Being told three different times I couldn't take photos of the art (I was never pointing at any people) was kind of the last straw - especially for a tech conference where camera phones used for scanning QR codes are the expected norm now. 

It was a great conference though and I am very glad I got to visit Independence Hall.  Ever visited a city that left you feeling a bit divided about the visit like I was about Philly?