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!!!

Beauty and the Beach

Today's Creative Team Wednesday's featured piece over on ICE Resin's site is a little experiment I did while at the Oregon Coast Art Camp over my birthday weekend last month. Wow! That was seriously a LONG sentence!!!

I love how it turned out. Usually, I'm primarily using the resin to fill in bezels, to cast into molds, or to coat a surface.

This time, I just used a toothpick as a paint brush to "draw" a heart and fill it in...a mix of crafting techniques...painting meets color-flow icing. That's why it's SO much fun to play with all the ideas in your arsenal - from cake decorating to sewing to home decor.

Don't be afraid. If you do it exactly like everyone else does it, there would never be anything new to learn!!!

So, go experiement. On Wood. On Stones. On Metal. On Fabric...Whatever...let every surface be a canvas!

I can't wait to see what you come up with...Please share! I love innovation....

The Ultimate Cast-offs....

I happened upon an As-Is Goodwill on a side street the other day...Funny...I've been on that side street before...How had I NEVER seen it?

As most As-Is' are, it was a bit smelly and a whole lot messy.

Big cardboard "crates" on pallets.

Easy in. Easy out.

This is where you find the best stuff...the stuff the regular RETAIL Goodwill's don't want or that didn't sell.

I found a handful of thimbles. Some clothing to use in a couple of sewing projects.

And this "hulking" beast...

This guy weighs a ton! Well, not literally a ton, but let's just say, if you dropped it or got a finger caught under it, you would know it...

It was literally a steal...It's an adding machine from about 1939. It STILL WORKS!!! It's missing a #1, but...

I'm trying to decide whether to order a replacement key off of Etsy or Ebay...the keys cost more than I paid for the WHOLE thing...

OR

dismantle it for the guts, the body and the keys for art creations...?

What would you do???

*****

The other AWESOME find was this...

It was in one of those cardboard crates...it has A LOT of CHARACTER! And no one wanted it!!!

It doesn't smell. It's not covered in pet hair. It's perfect!!!

Soft. Muted. Worn.

 Very, very, very worn.

 The tattered edges.  

The holes.

The stains.

...at .79 cents per pound, just over $3.00, I think it will make the perfect base for some wall art...

Add a few buttons. Some meaningful quotes, poetry or song lyrics. A bit more dimension and texture with wire, paint, more fabric layers....

Now I just need to decide whether I should make ONE LARGE piece, or cut it up into multiple sections, medium and small, and create numerous pieces...This quilt seems larger than a full, but not quite queen-size.

I love it!

I love the price!

I love the tattered patina!

I love the canvas in front of me.....

Lots of options here...

Technique Tuesday....A Simply Summer Necklace.

My first Technique Tuesday video for ICE Resin....

How to go from this....

...and this...

....to this

...in just a few simple steps.

The hardest part is resisting touching the resin before it's ready to take out of the mold... :-)

Stay tuned...for next week's Technique Tuesday...I have more up my sleeve...