I am in the process of creating a Mouse sized ring. One of the guys in our group is just silly enough to 'propose' to Minnie Mouse, because Mickey won't. I'm creating a ring for him to use that would fit on a Minne sized, gloved hand. This is requiring the use of Diamond Glaze glue, a bead container, gold ribbon, and lots and lots of glitter.
I've got the giggles just contemplating what might happen. I know this man, he'll get down on one knee and declare himself. The question is, how will Minnie handle it? I'm sure this has happened before, but it might not have happened to that particular Minnie-cast member. We'll remind him that he's already married, should she get stuck. But, we will let Minnie keep the ring anyway.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Save on Life to Spend on Art
I just switched us from one internet/cable TV service provider over to a different one. This will save us about $60 the first month and $30/month after that. The theory is that money not spent on cable TV will be spent on art supplies in one form or another. Saved 22 cents a pound on ground beef? Great! I can now spend an extra 66 cents on paper. This type of saving to spend makes sense. And since I used a coupon and saved 40% on a new trimmer, I can spend that $6 on a new stamp pad.
My goal is two fold. If we only earn so many dollars a month, and have to spend 95% of those dollars on things like a roof over our heads and food in our mouths, I have a limited number of dollars to spend on art supplies. I want to make that 93% on roof and food, and I want those art dollars to go as far as possible. I am an artist, therefore I clip coupons and shop for sales. I checked prices at no fewer than 5 places before getting a new memory card for my camera.
My goal is two fold. If we only earn so many dollars a month, and have to spend 95% of those dollars on things like a roof over our heads and food in our mouths, I have a limited number of dollars to spend on art supplies. I want to make that 93% on roof and food, and I want those art dollars to go as far as possible. I am an artist, therefore I clip coupons and shop for sales. I checked prices at no fewer than 5 places before getting a new memory card for my camera.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Camera Thoughts
We got Wonderful Hubby a new point and shoot camera yesterday. I need to get him a new memory card, but other than that, he should be good to go. He doesn't care about features, he just wants a point and shoot. I want the right range of features so that if I have to set something, I can. I got my old Pentax cleaned and checked and it is in remarkably good shape for a 30 year old camera. I don't use it any more, but I want to keep it.
Talking with other photographers always makes me think about photography technique more. I'm not going for the Art Print, but I do like to have control over what my photos look like and how I take them. I was lucky enough to be born with an eye. My eye will compose a photograph and then it is a matter of knowing how to set the camera and the lens to capture the photograph that I have envisioned. I had to take classes to learn that part, but I didn't have to take classes to learn how to compose a photograph. I don't think I've ever composed a shot using the rule of thirds. If you look at photos I've taken, they might fit the rule of thirds, but I never plan it. I just take the photo that my eye tells me will be right.
Talking with other photographers always makes me think about photography technique more. I'm not going for the Art Print, but I do like to have control over what my photos look like and how I take them. I was lucky enough to be born with an eye. My eye will compose a photograph and then it is a matter of knowing how to set the camera and the lens to capture the photograph that I have envisioned. I had to take classes to learn that part, but I didn't have to take classes to learn how to compose a photograph. I don't think I've ever composed a shot using the rule of thirds. If you look at photos I've taken, they might fit the rule of thirds, but I never plan it. I just take the photo that my eye tells me will be right.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Stroking Paper
I went to a friend's house to crop yesterday and since we were both expecting an identical shipment from Club Scrap, I brought mine unopened, so we could open our kits together. The FedEx lady did a double take. I'd gone leaping and jumping out of my garage to meet her when she drove up at my house and she handed me a box 'o stuff, after verifying my name. Then, I went leaping and jumping out of my friend's front door and met the same FedEx lady an hour later! I verified my friend's name and happily took a second box 'o stuff into a different house. Having a scrapping buddy a ten minute drive away has advantages.
Wheee!!! We opened the boxes at the same time and dug in. It was much more fun than opening my box all alone. Each of us pointed out things to the other, commented on how we reacted to the textures and colors and the experience was much richer for being shared. I started prepping my kit for use immediately and she spent time reading through directions sheets and putting the papers together, studying the shapes and how they went together.
Wheee!!! We opened the boxes at the same time and dug in. It was much more fun than opening my box all alone. Each of us pointed out things to the other, commented on how we reacted to the textures and colors and the experience was much richer for being shared. I started prepping my kit for use immediately and she spent time reading through directions sheets and putting the papers together, studying the shapes and how they went together.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Challenged Out
I've been working through a set of challenges since early February. I'm toast. Toast, I tell you. Done to a tee. Crispy around the edges. Baked to a delicate crunch or quick fried to a crackly crunch, it makes no never mind. Put a rocker on that front porch, I'm through. I managed to turn out some lousy work that meets the -I will not say it- criteria of this challenge. I have also learned something. Do not participate in challenges that have not been completely defined before you agree to participate. 'We reserve the right to make up more rules as we go along' is not a definition.
On a completely different note, I was able to chat with an experienced digital scrapper this evening at the GNO (Girl's Night Out) crop. She turned me onto a digiscrapping seller that is just incredibly good.I added ZTAMPF to my links list, so go check her out! There is a whole pile of stuff in my wish list and I am not that kind of shopper as a rule.
I'd planned to purchase punches at today's crop and I started getting the Marvy Uchida basic shapes set. M-U makes square punches that nest and also squares with scalloped edges that nest and you can nest a plain square inside a scalloped square and vice versa. And then there are circles, ovals and hearts, too. It's quite the punch set and sold individually, not as an actual set. My goal is to have the squares, circles and ovals in three sizes for a total of 18 punches. I'm not that much into hearts. I got five punches today and that was all that I'd put into the budget. Later on, I'll create a little spreadsheet so I can fill in with punches gotten with coupons and save a few pennies. Today, I just got a class discount.
Happy National Scrapbook Day!!!
On a completely different note, I was able to chat with an experienced digital scrapper this evening at the GNO (Girl's Night Out) crop. She turned me onto a digiscrapping seller that is just incredibly good.I added ZTAMPF to my links list, so go check her out! There is a whole pile of stuff in my wish list and I am not that kind of shopper as a rule.
I'd planned to purchase punches at today's crop and I started getting the Marvy Uchida basic shapes set. M-U makes square punches that nest and also squares with scalloped edges that nest and you can nest a plain square inside a scalloped square and vice versa. And then there are circles, ovals and hearts, too. It's quite the punch set and sold individually, not as an actual set. My goal is to have the squares, circles and ovals in three sizes for a total of 18 punches. I'm not that much into hearts. I got five punches today and that was all that I'd put into the budget. Later on, I'll create a little spreadsheet so I can fill in with punches gotten with coupons and save a few pennies. Today, I just got a class discount.
Happy National Scrapbook Day!!!
Friday, May 2, 2008
Truly a Challenge
I'm taking part in a scrapping challenge where I have been given a set of layouts, directions to cut paper to make those layouts and I may not substitute an embellishment for a piece of paper. For example one of the layouts has eight 1.5" squares of paper used in it. They are placed in two lines of three, and a set of two and sometimes they are placed on top of a strip of 2" wide paper. I'd like to replace some of the squares of paper with stamps of the same size.
Nope. I may not do this. I may stamp on top of those squares and put the paper in place, but I may not stamp instead of those squares of paper. I would be 'eliminating elements' and that's not allowed. If the plan calls for three squares in a row and I'm putting three visual squares of something in a row, aren't I including three design elements? I think I am, but the person judging the challenge says not.
All I can say is that I'm really glad that I own repositionable adhesive. After I have completed the layouts to meet the challenge specifications, I'm going to take them apart and re-do them so they have a bit more of my creative stamp to them. (Pun intended.)
And, since I need only use a majority of a specific brand of paper in my layouts (and it's great quality, but not cheap) I will use an inexpensive, off-brand of cardstock that I purchased in error in place of the expensive stuff so that when I remove it and throw it away, I won't be wasting the good stuff. If using eight 1.5" squares of off-brand paper constitutes a majority on a 12x12 two-page layout, I want to know who taught you math. Will the off-brand of paper match? Do I care? Will I stamp on the off-brand paper? Hah!
Nope. I may not do this. I may stamp on top of those squares and put the paper in place, but I may not stamp instead of those squares of paper. I would be 'eliminating elements' and that's not allowed. If the plan calls for three squares in a row and I'm putting three visual squares of something in a row, aren't I including three design elements? I think I am, but the person judging the challenge says not.
All I can say is that I'm really glad that I own repositionable adhesive. After I have completed the layouts to meet the challenge specifications, I'm going to take them apart and re-do them so they have a bit more of my creative stamp to them. (Pun intended.)
And, since I need only use a majority of a specific brand of paper in my layouts (and it's great quality, but not cheap) I will use an inexpensive, off-brand of cardstock that I purchased in error in place of the expensive stuff so that when I remove it and throw it away, I won't be wasting the good stuff. If using eight 1.5" squares of off-brand paper constitutes a majority on a 12x12 two-page layout, I want to know who taught you math. Will the off-brand of paper match? Do I care? Will I stamp on the off-brand paper? Hah!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
New Month, New Backup!
I'm looking into on-line storage systems, where I can configure my machine(s) to save off-site on an automagic basis and I won't have to think about it, other than to do regular checks and tidy up files when I move them from place to place. I'm always trying to refine my file system and make things easy to find. I don't like digging through many layers of directories, but I also like the tree system, where sorting moves from general to specific in a logical pattern. I'm also old school, where you don't want a zillion directories all at the top level.
Never trust a person who can count to 255 on their fingers. Old networking joke.
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