Expression of Love....

my latest themed media creation

Like many assemblage artists, I’m always looking for ways to use found objects in my work - be it the rusty metal thing-a-ma-jig on the ground, or the left-over frame work housing a chipboard alphabet, or the unused chopsticks from lunch. Whatever the case may be, if the shape or texture or patina is fun, it comes into the studio.

One night we were making Rice-a-Roni as a side-dish, and I took notice of the small, foiled seasoning bag within the box.

Hmmmm, I thought. It’s kraft-colored on the outside and foiled on the inside.

After rinsing the bag and letting it dry overnight, I decided to experiment with its two-toned features.

Shall I resin-coat it?

Shall I use alcohol inks?

Shall I...punch it ?
My large Fiskars scalloped punch would not fit inside the bag, but I found that by folding one side in half, back over itself, and centering the punch, I was able to create the full shape of the punch.

This allowed me to achieve an open design on the front side of the bag - creating a nice little foil frame to showcase a resin-coated paper word, Expression.

With the addition of an assortment of punched flowers attached to shopping bag handle "stems", my old slate chalkboard is now ready for many expressions of love.

The first being this very simple, very sweet sentiment...

If I had a flower for every time you made me smile and laugh,

I'd have a garden to walk in forever...

Click to see my Technique Tuesday how-to video over on the ICE Resin website.

Can you believe it? I'm actually on my blog!!!!

It feels like it's been FOREVER since I've blogged...and I guess it has! My feelings are correct!

Been VERY busy with SO much in life...


Project deadlines...theme park openings spanning the globe. Lots of long hours for the entire E.B. crew. Lots of new costume projects and deadlines. Work. Work. Work. All good, considering the alternative, but some days it truly feels like over-load...It IS over load...I guess my feeling are again correct!

One that's out the door...Big Rock Candy Mountain...photo credit and article link

Kyle is home on leave from Korea.

A.J. graduated from high school.

Our favorite...one and only family dog, Wonka had to be put down un-expectedly due to complications of diabetes...we didn't even know he was diabetic...and he was NOT vet appointment deprived by any means...the symptoms just came on fast and were irreversable..Not a happy time for any of us...

We have a new back porch. We love it. Especially since it will keep rain from dumping down on the new (almost 3, or maybe even 4 years old! My how time really does fly!) door.

We are trying to get settled in the new shop, but really, just landed and hit the ground running full-steam ahead.

The Rusty Monkey wall started to be built today. YAY!!! That is a happy adventure down the road...
that road is getting shorter...I hope!

Lots going on...

LOTS!!!

Just wait until this is done....I hope it will look something like this...

A SERIOUSLY WONDER WALL!!! Thanks to Layla and Kevin Palmer over at the Lettered Cottage for the inspiration....

Cheers!!!

"I QUIT!"

Yep. That's what my christmas tree said yesterday!

So, I removed its ONE string of white lights, all the celophane wrapped candy canes, the red glass ornaments, the sheer red ribbon garland, the little red bows, and the silver tinsel strands...there was NEVER a topper put on the poor thing. I NEVER even took a photo of the tree this year...so I guess QUITTING was warranted.

Plus, even though it was watered (a couple of times), a couple of times wasn't enough. The needles were DRY and DEAD!!! Even with the huge tree stand still attached, it only weighed about 2 lbs...MAX! I'm betting the tree stand weighed as much as it.

When I lugged it in, it weighed A LOT more than that...talk about a starvation diet!

I've been really busy the last few weeks...months, actually, so our tree this year was a bit neglected...If it wasn't for A.J. and Kyra decorating it, it would still be standing in the room naked as a jay bird!!


Moving on...

So, I put the tree, with the stand still attached out on the front porch (which still isn't finished!).

There were needles EVERYWHERE!!! I guess the tree was getting even with me.

Pulled out the Dyson and proceeded to vacuum the floor...

Thinking I got the last laugh, because the needles made the vacuum smell so good and fresh, I looked up to see the tree on the porch when I was done, and IT WASN'T THERE! Only needles.

Now, keep in mind, I don't live in a city. There's no recycling service going around removing trees into a big truck. There are no neighborhood kids to play pranks. SO? Where did the tree go?

I walked out the door. Looked to the left and then to the right, over the porch railings.

NO tree.

Walked down the stairs.

NO tree.

Walked down the walkway....

WHAT THE HECK?!!!

There was the tree. Tree stand still attached. Lying down and around the house - a complete U-Turn - in front of the garage that is below the house!!!

Dang tree.

I guess when it said, "I QUIT!" it wasn't kidding!!!

ETA: the wind was HOWLING yesterday!!!

"I, Tina Marie Schiefer, do solemnly swear, that Christmas 2012's tree will be fully decorated, watered, pampered, photographed and shared!"

Green House.

Well, NOT really a GREEN HOUSE, but more of a greenhouse/atrium/summer kitchen.

I'm talking about the area that was a HUGE selling point of this house almost 7 years ago. I can not believe it's actually been almost 7 years, but it has and man, oh, man how the time has flown. A lot has happened, but the only thing that has happened in that wonderful space is JUNK storage. A drop zone.

New stuff. Old stuff. My stuff. His stuff. Their stuff. My Mom's stuff. Boys' stuff.

STUFF.

STUFFED FULL!

Whatta MESS....

Well, on Wednesday, Ginger and I braved the cold - although, after working for a few, we stripped our layers - one by one. And when we were finally done sorting and organizing and throwing away garbage, and I came inside to change into clean clothes, the fat layers on the lower portion of my body were very, very cold! Good job fat layers! They were cold, but I hadn't noticed! Maybe, and I'm only gonna say this once, I like my fat!!!

Anyway, back to my story - pre-cold-fat-discovery - we tackled the mess like troopers - with gloves! I won't even go into the whole mouse poop debacle, stemming from the oatmeal containers in a box (thanks, Ty! - Boys move out, and boys move back in...but who would've guessed they would bring food from their kitchen cabinets and store them!???)

Pre-sorting....

This is the view to the left, over the banister/landing - mid-sorting...

 This is the view from the upper level. 

This is me - armed and ready for battle.

This was Ginger's reaction to all.this.crap!!!

She was soon a happy, happy friend - I "gifted" her this window she was eye-balling...

She promptly took it outta there before I changed my mind....not likely, since I have many, many windows....plus, she was willing to glove-up in the mouse poop! What a trooper!!!...(yeah, a pooper-trooper) ... I couldn't resist... LOL

The upstairs room/space. Ginger says it would make a perfect theater room or game room... I see it painted all white with a new ceiling  -  it leaked a few years ago before we re-roofed it.

 These are Cub Scout badges from when my boys were little ... IN.GRADE.SCHOOL!!! Circa 1999!!! I was a den leader and these were left-overs I found in an envelope. Moved in a box, oh, 4 houses - WA to OR, OR to CA, CA to CA, CA to OR. YES, in a box we actually moved FOUR freakin' times!!!

 This is Ginger teasing..."Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" Wearing Ty's Chevy's Restaurant Birthday sombrero...from, like age 9!!! He's 23 now....Thanks, DEAR FRIEND, for the intervention!!!
I'm NOT a hoarder....am I????

 O.K., but maybe hoarding is a good-thing? In that same box, I found $$$ that was reimbursed to me by one of those little- NOW 23 years-old - boys for a Scouting book....$4.25. Whoo HOOO! Talk about SAVINGS plan...um....

Hoarding Proof!

 

The Summer kitchen. Cool, old Formica, dontcha think? When Ty was "living" in this space, he removed the upper kitchen cabinet doors and began painting them with chalkboard paint. How cool was that? A boy before his time....

 

Organized piles that are sorted, but now need to find permanent homes. Car parts for the shop/garage. Bankers boxes of business documents to store for 7 years. Bankers boxes full of magazines to get rid of. Windows to use, re-purpose, sell. White plastic tables and chairs to use this Summer. Boxes of Ty's belongings that need to go to his rented 3 bedroom w/2 car garage!!!

Yay! Progress....progress that will continue and transform into a Where Women Create space? A GREEN HOUSE to grow plants and veggies? A game room? A Guest House/Room? Who knows. But NOT a DROP ZONE!!!!

The view from the kitchen towards the bathroom/breezeway....under the room upstairs... NOT yet finished.


I'm thinking it would be SO cool to order a few pallets of used, red brick and a load of playground sand and "pave" that dirt area/side. Hang up a few clear twinkle lights. Maybe a chandelier. Bring in the patio table and serve dinner under the stars....Or maybe put the hot tub in there...hmmmm...

For now the greenhouse bathroom and the kitchen sink has been sterilized and the mice - Dude the Cat, mouse traps and LACK OF OATMEAL willing - will be a thing of the past...We've NEVER had ANY evidence of mice in ANY thing in the house...including the dog, cat or bird food. Go figure!

Happy Saturday!

ETA: I HATE the used, red brick on my fireplace, but LOVE it on the ground!!!

What a beeee.uuuuu.ti.fullll day.....

Baby Shoe Nest courtesy of Barbara Jean of Treasure's From The Heart. 
I won this at a giveaway she had last year.

Oh, man. What a tease today has been. Still a bit on the chilly side, 60-ish, but the SUN was shining....

and we have to 


take joy in the simple things

I opened up some windows and doors for a few, then after things aired out a bit, brought in some wood and started me up a fire to take the chill away. Nothing like a fire when it's NOT freezing outside. Just cozy.

***********

The other night, after work, I decided to Spring-Up our fireplace mantel. I found a few goodies I just happened to already have (duh! smiles my honey..."with all that treasure hunting you do, you could probably Spring-Up a whole city of mantels!")

O.K., truth be told, he didn't say anything, except, "Whatcha doin?", as I was wearing a path between the  dining room and the catch-all storage room that will someday be the guest room...

He never really complains about anything I do or how much stuff treasure I collect. He's the best that way!!!

*********

Earlier that day, I was at Goodwill by my work (errands are so fun to run during the day!) **you did not just read that, honey! :-) wink; and I spotted this gorgeous framed picture. It's just a print, but it's matted and it just SCREAMS Springtime!!! $6.00. ** My friend, Ginger, called me today and said she found the exact same print today for $18....score....

What a perfect match for the wall in the dining room...

It was hanging on the wall. I took it down. Examined it for stains, broken frame, scratched glass, etc...contemplated it. Hung it back up. Shopped the other areas of the store. Came back to it. Took it down again. Put it in my cart. Took it back out again...

Birds. Hmmmm. I don't decorate with birds. Hmmmm. It is yellow. I have lots of yellow in the house. Hmmmm. It's Spring. Birds are Spring-y. That blue bird is awfully cute. Hmmmm. Yeah, o.k. I can put it on the mantel. Then I can decorate the mantel for Spring. Now I'll need some bird houses. And maybe that little pink bird book I have. And, I do have those little yellow rain boots. Oh, and frogs. I have LOTS of frogs. And, I have those little seasonal blocks I made. And, there's forsythia and daffodils in bloom in the yard right now...Oh and....

The list in my head just kept getting longer and longer...

So, once I got home. I started on the mantel project.

One of my cast metal frogs AND an assortment of books I've collected because of their genre, color, and/or titles. This little birdhouse came with the house when we bought it 7 years ago, but has never had any little birdies, but don't ya just love the little roof line? 


Bird houses from the back porch. I simply added a #5 house number with a nail and "painted" the head with a black Sharpie.

Truth be told...these DID have residents, only NOT the kind I wanted in the house...good old Summertime leftovers....not bird poopie, silly-willy. This one has NO bottom.....dried up hornets nest!

Both houses will have "residents" tomorrow, as Ginger is kindly bringing me some mushroom birdies to add...

Just a little of my collection....I SO wish Daffodils smelled as good as they looked...Don't you??? Lilac season will be here soon, and then....Oh, those babies smell SO, SO yummy!!!


A couple pieces of my creamy white collection as vases with the flowers.

Loving the Forsythia, but I think it was happier outside! Saw this idea today, though....Very, very cute idea! 
Dang it! I need to go find the post and link it....I can't find it...check back, cause it's SO cute!!!  Found it! I love me some Google!!!


A little wooden drawer turned on edge with some scrapbook paper cut to fit to house the most adorable yellow rain boots.

Darling little rain boots I found a few years ago for a song. Bought the bird book last year, for..well, things like this!


Add a little bit of this and a little bit of that and Voila!

Frogs or toads, if you like, at the base of one of my vintage white, 3-paned windows; and my fave - a cast metal "S". I found THREE matching letters at one time....only three...T, P, S. I love it when things are meant to be....!

This years Spring mantel. ***Insert confession here....I did NOT take a photo of the entire mantel...BAD, Tina....

 

Simple little wooden blocks painted and stamped with each season on the sides. Perfect for changing things up....at least four times a year. 

*******************

Now if I could only get that UGLY 70's orange/black/white brick to GO AWAY like WINTER!!!

I have an idea....I'll keep you posted....and it's NOT painting the brick white. That's the ONE thing that won't work in the house....we use the fireplace way too often to contend with ugly brick chipping through the paint...NO matter how tough it is...

I hope it's as great in real life as it is in my head....that ever happen to you? Where it's perfectly perfect in your head movies, but then a complete and utter flop in real life? I've read about a few of those in the Land of Blog lately...glad I'm not the only one that happens to...

These stacked vintage suitcases topped with an old chippy wire basket reside at the end of the mantel. Ours is "L" shaped and the end faces the back hallway entry doorway.

Happy Spring Saturday!!!

Linking up to Donna up North at Funky Junk Interiors....

Linking up to The Stories of A to Z: Spring Mantel Linky Party...

Creeeepy...and it's not even Halloween anymore!

Country living.

Mountain-style.

Old house.

Distant views.

Abundant wildlife.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!

....but sometimes, just sometimes, it's a little too wild - on the inside.

I'm not afraid of the red and black beetles that invade the sunny side of the house twice a year. Those hundreds, if not thousands of annoying little bugs. That "do no harm" according to the local county extension office. That are "nothing more than a nuisance bug" according to a Google search. That cannot be exterminated by the local bug killer guy. Oh no. I'm not afraid of those flying bugs that get into every window crack and nook and cranny - which, in an older home, are plenty.

Nor, am I afraid of the not-so-random fuzzy brown spider that graces my bathroom floor in the daylight basement. Or the long-legged spider that makes his web in the corner of the window overlooking the yard. Or the fast little spider with the short legs that I chase with a Kleenex or paper cup, trying to save by releasing it outside.

Nope. I'm NOT scared or creeped out....

but

I 

am

terrified

petrified

mortified

and 

truly

creeped

out

of 

my

ever

lovin'

skin

by

the

little

dark

brown

sharp

tailed

scaly

SCORPION!!!

Yes, I saw my first teeny-tiny intruder in the house the first month we lived here.

I called the exterminator and with sheer disbelief I was informed that we live in a high desert climate. HIGH desert? This is the Pacific Northwest for crying out loud. True, it's not the Washington state Pacific Northwest - green, cold and wet where we used to live, but I've also lived in the Mojave desert - the high deserts of Bishop and Ridgecrest, California. This is NOT high desert to me. There should NOT be scorpions in my HOUSE!

The exterminator told me they could spray, but chances are it would not do much good. 

GREAT!

Tina vs. the Scorpions.

I have found them under books.

I have found them in dark corners throughout the garage and even in the laundry room and closets that reside in the basement.

Thankfully, I have NEVER found them in my shoes or my dresser drawers.

BUT

a few weeks ago, in my bedroom downstairs, I removed the over-head light fixture to change out the lightbulb....

I unscrewed the finial that holds the upside down glass shade in place. 

Put my hand over the finial and the retaining washer so it wouldn't fall on the floor. 

Then gently removed the glass globe and set it down on the table.

I changed the lightbulb.

When I reached to pick up the globe, the finial fell to the floor.

 and I FREAKED OUT when I spotted THIS!!!

THIS!!!!

HOW IN THE WORLD DID A SCORPION GET HERE????

It was between the globe and the finial!!!

UNDER THAT LITTLE FINIAL.

(look closely at that first photo - he's there - dead, yes - but I put my hand over that - what if he had been alive!!!)

All I can hope is the little menace had to painfully contort its body
to get through the tiny, tiny gap and then it died a sad slow death....

Ok, so that is kind of harsh thinking, but I can't help but feel that way.

If this one can magically squeeze in this unimaginable space, overhead, no less, where else can they get???

Why on earth do we need SCORPIONS?

Huh? WHY????

Happy Spring.

Today, I was wondering what "official" calendar day was the start of Spring.

So, I Googled it. 

WikiPedia said it was March 20. 

O.k. I know April Showers bring May flowers, but I really wish our Spring was a little less cold and wet.

Here is a picture I took of our house - from the inside of the car!

Too wet outside, but kinda makes a fun photo!

Made these little blocks out of leftover wood. Painted them with cream acrylic paint.

Stamped, with black Staz-On ink pad because it's waterproof, the seasonal trees and letters onto white tissue paper. I've found that by stamping on the tissue first vs. stamping on the blocks direct, makes for less boo-boos ie: incomplete stamped images, double-images, off-center images...

Affixed them to the blocks with Matte Finish Mod Podge.

Each of the four sides of 6 blocks spells out SPRING, SUMMER, AUTUMN, WINTER.

Each of the four sides of the first - 7th block - has a tree to represent.

I numbered the bottom of each of the six letter blocks 1-6 so they are kept easily in the right order.

Simple. Easy. Peasy.

I kept them simple. I could have distressed them. Painted the trees. Edged them in brown. The sky is the limit.

Most of you probably have already seen this, but just in case you've been under a rock...

I found this a few weeks ago.

Let's give credit where credit is due.

I just love this!

So much so, that I tore apart the old box spring that was in the new guest room (we went ahead and bought a new box spring to go with the new mattress because the old one we planned on using did not offer enough support and made the mattress too "bouncy")

Now, I have 80 bed springs, just like that! I should have a build-a-bed-spring-wreath party!

I'm linking up to Re-Invented's Trash to Treasure Tuesday...on a Wednesday....
Be sure to stop over there and see all the goodness that's linked up.

Happy Spring.