Paper rope [WOYWW143]

I'm using paper from an old wrecked bible to make an art piece that gives a quote from the bible. So I am not using bible paper indiscriminately. I do not mean to offend with my art.

I wanted to show how I made the paper rope in my art piece. All you need is strong paper and sharp scissors. Just fold the paper in half and cut into strips using sharp scissors and keeping the top and bottom of the shape intact. It's just like the paper lanterns we made in school years ago. I think they still make them.


Lay the shape on top of something that 'grabs' and you will have to experiment with what works for you. I used a chunk of rubber that is meant to hold the top of jars tight while you open them. Kitchen/household rubber gloves would probably also work. The back of a rug that has that non-stick coating would probably work as well. Start rolling back and forth gently. Once you have a good 'roll' going on, pick it up in both of your hands and continue rolling with your fingers individually.

When it comes time to cut the ends you must pay attention because it is really easy to cut the wrong bit and you've then shortened your rope without meaning to. Cut the top through to the end on one side (let's call it the 'top') and then move over one space and cut the bottom through to the end, and so on. You'll notice that each side has cuts that skip a space. So it looks like: cut, skip a space, cut, skip a space. But you'll just have to try it yourself to see what I am talking about. I'm sure there are more clearly written instructions for the making of paper rope somewhere on the web. I just wanted you to see what I am working on these days.

Here is a little book made with cigarette paper pages. There are two pages to this book which contain a quote from the bible on one of them and a bird illustration on the other. I've used bible paper to line the front and back inside cover. The cover itself is made of handmade Japanese paper and when closed the books is wrapped and fastened with paper rope adorned with cowrie shells from Hawaii.


When opened:


The little book complete. My weathered hand is 61 years of age.


So that's what I've been working on these past few days. To see more wonderful workdesks, pop by here, Julia Dunnit's blog featuring the desktops of artists all over the world every Wednesday. Join in and show us what you are working on. What does your desk look like. What do others' desks look like?

Thanks for dropping by and we'll see you soon, I hope. *smiles* Norma

Fairy Postcard from Cuba

Samuel is staying for a few days in a heliconia greenhouse, next door to where a band holds practice sessions. She's enjoying herself and taking in all of that color and delicious scent.


It is warm in Cuba, but with an ocean breeze that cools everything perfectly, though making her a tad homesick. But the music playing nearby fills her heart with joy.


To see more wonderful postcards in the Postcard challenge 2012, visit here.

Thanks for dropping by, see you soon, I hope. *smiles* Norma

Cherry Pound Cake [WOYWW142]

Today I will breakfast at my work desk, enjoying more than one slice of cherry pound cake and coffee. Then I will tackle a bag of used tea bags. These need to be taken apart and ironed flat for use. An experiment is waiting to happen, using soft gel matte medium for an image transfer technique. Spiders and mushrooms are on the agenda.


Here is what the cake looked like yesterday just after it came from the oven and cooled a bit.


Thanks for dropping by; to see more wonderful images of work desks pop in here. See you soon I hope, *smiles* Norma

First successful gel transfer

Gel transfers are not rocket science, but the many (too many to recall) times I have attempted this procedure I have failed miserably. Well I felt miserable after all of the failures anyway. Until yesterday when I was in the middle of making a used tea bag paper little book tag for TAG TUESDAY, when I enjoyed my first success.


Here is a shot of the middle spread showing the bird image transfer, along with a wee poem written with a mapping pen and india ink. Closed, the book measures about 1.5" wide by 2" tall so that gives you an idea of how small the book is. As I'm right in the throes of delight in making these books, the gel transfers are going to add to them immeasurably. I'm tickled pink.

Thanks for dropping by, and we'll see you soon, I hope. *smiles* Norma

Fairy Postcard from Wales

Wales is the most colorful beautiful spot that Samuel has visited this journey to date. She is simply in love with it and could easily find herself living here she thinks.


Though she is a bit chilly writing the post card...


She knows that in the The Fairyhedgepig Kingdom the postal service is headed by a very adroit fastidious postmaster general who is a carrier pigeon and whose nickname is Pidge. So she doesn't worry about such things a postage stamps. Although she thinks that the stamp from Wales probably would have been very colorful and fun.

Thanks for dropping in. To see more fabby postcards visit here

LIEBSTER BLOG AWARD

I am so pleased to have been nominated the Liebster Blog Award by the incredibly talented Diana Taylor, over at Velvet Moth Studio. Thank you Diana!

I now get the chance to nominate five other blogs that I love or find inspirational - soooo difficult to pin it down to just 5!

The Liebster Award is given to bloggers who have up to 200 followers in the hope it will bring them new followers and friends. The tradition is that it is then passed on to five other bloggers to help them too.

To accept the award you need to:
1. Link back to the person's blog who gave you the award and thank them
2. Post the Award on your blog
3. Give the award to five fellow bloggers who inspire you
4. Leave a comment on their blogs to let them know

It has been very difficult to choose five blogs but I have gone for the following as they are ones I have recently visited the most, and enjoyed very much:


1. Raven's Rest Studio

2. Sparkle Days Studio

3. Artful Fairy Tales

4. Fairy Rocks and Things

5. Bois-fleurie

They are all well worth a visit - enjoy!

Etsy shop open for business

It's been some time since I've offered things on my etsy shop but I am very pleased to be able to put up the small book zines that I have been making these days. I love them myself I have to say.


Each small book zine is an original and no two are exactly alike. There is only one entitled '45 magic'.


The small book zines have a front and back cover, with 4 pages within. The size is about 1.5" wide by 2" tall when measured closed. I personally use them as a thank you to a neighbour, or a cheery note to a sad friend, or a small greeting to another neighbour. I can't stop giving them away because people love them. They can hardly believe that the small book is made from one used tea bag. I sure enjoy making them.

Well thank you for dropping in and we'll see you soon, I hope. *smiles* Norma

p.s. remember to 'wish'!!

Steps to a Valentine...WOYWW[141]

Hoping that everyone had a wonderful day! To see more artwork from fabby artist visit here.

Thank for visiting and we'll see you soon I hope! *smiles* Norma

Happy Valentine's Day

A very blessed and loving Valentine's Day to you all.


My heart creation goes out with best wishes to you.


See you soon, *smiles* Norma

Fairy Postcard from Belgium

Belgian chocolate! Samuel couldn't have imagined anything so delicious in all of her days living in the Fairy Hedgepig Kingdom! She and fairyyellowbug spent many hours making home made chocolates of all kinds and descriptions in the cookbooks that they used to find out by the dump. True, some of these books were moldy beyond use, but some were salvageable and they'd dry them out in the yard by the sunflower patch. They made some pretty good chocolates in their trials but believe me, nothing even close to the real Belgian chocolate that Samuel has discovered on this leg of the journey.


Her postcard from Belgium reads:

"Dearest Fairy! Expect under separate cover 2 perfect gold leafed special ordered Belgian chocolates from me and Pierre, my new love. We are in Belgium sight-see-ing. Pardon typos. Love Samuel,xx"

Thanks for dropping in. To see more wonderful fun postcards pop by here.

Success comes from hard work

Many the time I have heard this but I learned it for my self these past few days. I've been struggling and failing badly with my attempt to master a zine that I'm designing from used tea bag paper. One tea bag gives one zine which measures about 1.5" wide by 2" tall and gives 4 pages with a front and back cover. I've pushed through to success and am very proud of myself. Here are 5 zines which constitute my first successful batch. There will be no stopping me now!


So I have two zines which I'll keep for reference, one zine is a gift, and two will likely go up on my etsy shop. I am very pleased to be able to offer these.
Every zine is one of a kind. Every one has a front cover with a hand drawn sketch of something and a title that features numbers of some sort with a word or two to give the feeling of the zine. For example below you see: 36 warning as the title, inside there is a sketch of a bird using india ink with yellow acrylic coloration and gold watercolor highlights and the message is~in darkness, Every moment is an opportunity; 47 of mental shows bamboo drawn in an india ink sketch and inside the sketch is a lotus blossom with the message~'I'd like to be flexible.'
My goal is not to explain poetry but for this blog I'll say that 36 warning is a heads-up to remind one that not only yourself, but others can utilize a moment of their choosing, and 47 of mental can be read as of things mental, or of things of the mind.


Messages are made using cut text from antique books and typewritten messages on the paper from the margins of the same old books. I love my manual typewriter.


45 magic is one I'll keep or give away as a present. Inside shows a sketch of an owl and the message says~if you wish, Your life is your work of art.
IV artist is a gift to an artist who gave a wonderful workshop training session which I attended a few weeks ago. I made this zine as a thank you to the artist. The inside message says~Forever, I am learning to trust my intuition. It also features a drawing of an owl.


So that's what I've been up to these days with my head down cutting and drawing and pasting and mouthing expletives with frustration. It's all good now!

Thanks for dropping by and I look forward to seeing you soon I hope! *smiles* Norma

What is on my workdesk today?

Ironed tea bag paper, india ink, nib mapping pen, rubber stamps and an old book lay on my work surface today waiting to be used to make a zine that I am designing. You can see the zine itself at the bottom of the photo.


The cover of my zine entitled: know [38]


Page 1 showing an owl sketched in india ink.


The center spread (pages 2 and 3) show the message: to go through I listen to my gut feelings


Page 4 and the inside back cover. I sewed a few sequins on to this page. The image is from an Asian stationers stamp. I don't know what it says and so hope I don't offend anyone.


The size of my zine is 1.5 inches wide X 2 inches long (approximately). You can see that tea bag paper likes to bleed. This is part of the visual that is unique in my opinion.

Thanks for dropping by; to see more fabby art from other wonderful players go here.

My favorite things

In the selfish interest of having a chance to win this:


I am playing along with the butterfly effect and answering ten questions about me.

I. What is your favorite flower to bring to your enemy’s grave?
The grave is a place of memories so I'd bring forgetmenots.
II. What is your favorite bird to dress up as if you were in a parade?
Budgie.
III. What is your favorite pet quality you’d like to own?
Cat~the ability to just walk away; Dog~eternal optimism
IV. Which one of your favorite celebrities would you marry if you could?
Michael Caine
V. What is your favorite food to order when your in-laws are paying for the meal?
Something involving booze.
VI. What is your favorite drink to accidentally spill on a person you like?
Water
VII. What is your favorite destination to vacation and/or live if you won a million dollars?
London town
VIII. What is your favorite color to wear to your best friend’s wedding?
Indian yellow
IX. What is your favorite book or/and book character you’d take with you on a lonely island?
I Ching
X. What is your favorite song to sing in the shower?
My Sweet Lord by George Harrison

We are to do something creative as well so this was the excuse to go ahead and try out something I've been planning inside of my head for about a year now. It's a zine/littlebook made from a used tea bag sheet of paper. Here is the cover which features an india ink sketched bird and a quick collage. As tea bag paper is impossibly thin you can see that it bleeds easily and tears even more easily. Both a rip and a bleed come with the territory on this cover. So here is my prototype of my zine which I plan to make for my etsy shop.




Thanks for visiting, and I hope to see you soon. *smiles* Norma

A woman's work is never done!

But it sure is a pleasure to do it on such beautiful furniture. This is where my ironing gets done. I've a small collapsible ironing board with two sides so that when you flip it over you have a narrow padded board which you can slide a sleeve into. I love this little thing. I don't necessarily love ironing per se but I do love the effect of a beautifully ironed shirt or pillow case. I even iron my handkerchiefs. I use the gentleman's size handkerchief; not a frilly little piece of nothing that are the ladies size. I was just ironing a shirt this morning and realized that I was surrounded by beauty.


The table is low to the floor so I perch on a very tiny stool that is about ten inches from the floor. Here is the table as it looks when not an ironing table. I love this beauty. It was given to me this year for Christmas from a wonderful friend, former neighbour, and birthday twin, April.


Well, now it is on to the dishes! And then bread making!

Nice to visit with you; we'll see you soon I hope, *smiles* Norma

Fairy Postcard from France

France has proven to be where the magic is for Samuel. She just feels 'alive' there. I think, and this is just my own opinion mind you, that it is because she has fallen in love. Here is what her postcard says:

"Hi fairy! I've fallen in love. His name is Pierre. We met at a bistro under my room at the hotel. He treats me to croissants and french pressed coffee every morning. I drew his picture so you could see how handsome he is. Love Samuel"

Need I say more?




Let's hope that Samuel's heart doesn't get crushed. She's been in France barely a week but perhaps there really is love at first sight. We shall see. To view more fabby postcards in the Postcard Challenge 2012 visit here. Thanks for stopping by! *smiles* Norma