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got this on resurrection fern

beads & books & cards

i've been working on some beading. . .

i have been hording beads. . . so i have started using some. . .
got some cute stuff at the tattered cover yesterday:
oh how i love charley harper

cute cards. . .

the critic

i am reading 5 books right now! they are all pretty good.
i was struck by something i read here in Alphonse Mucha his life and art

i have always loved mucha, i have 2 of his prints i got before i even knew who he was.
this book is great, it was writen by his son Jiri.
alphonse is quoted on pg 41:

"I said goodnight to Count Egon and returned thoughtfully to my room. There I sat down and looked at each of my pictures in turn. They all seemed small and full of mistakes. Despite the growing darkness I set up a fresh canvas and began to work. I wanted to paint something I would be really satisfied with. I worked a long time. But I have never yet succeeded in painting this picture. . . "

it's amazing someone who's work i admire so much wasn't satisfied with his work. . . WOW!
that inner critic can be loud and rude.

then watched this video about quieting the lizard brain. i think the critic is pretty much all lizard

blame it on the moon

feeling a little down maybe it's the moon. . .
photo series from the last 3 days

waxing

waxing

FULL

I see the moon,
The moon sees me
God bless the moon,
And God bless me.

inspiring ladies

so since my one actively crafty buddy tyler moved across the country i've been wanting to meet some more crafty people. . . i've been trying to get friends to go to a denver handmade alliance meeting/get together with me. no one would so i decided to just go by myself last night. it was the meeting of the events committee. i am now going to help by marketing the next event CRAFTY BALLYHOO! here in denver. they are collaborating with the city's "create denver week". i already met some great ladies at the meeting and next tuesday is the member's meeting. i'm trying to get some of my buddies to attend too.

so i got home last night and started doing a day of the dead painting of a figurine i got at a thrift store a'la tattoo tales and my tv died. was it a sign we just need to kill our tv? hmmm. . . it was crazy i was painting (a mary none the less) maybe it was too sacreligious

i love my love for you is a stampede of horses. i want to repost every artist it's an amazing resource.

i found this Faust the other day while searching art nouveau pictures

when looking for inspiration for my figure painting

love this was another art nouveau find, oiseau bleu

woodbock prints

so i was watching antiques road show last night, and there was are really cool royal bonn art nouveau vase like this one. then i started looking around and found a little book with wood block prints from morin-jean. whom i haven't heard of but i think i got a good deal for $20. . .
i'll show you the prints when it get it. . . these were the few examples i could find online.

crooked corners

in my house

love, love, love

these are great! get them here

heaters: sacks of rice

for many many years i've been using a bed buddy.

they are literally sacks of (uncooked) rice you stick in the microwave.
they are great because they put out a moist heat and moist heat penetrates your muscles vs. a heating pack, which is questionable because of the electric energy and it only heats the surface/skin. palmer's got his own now and actually he threw up on it and so i cut it open dumped out the rice and sewed him a new one. i used my old favorite cowboy sheet that had gotten a hole in it. i lined it with another jersey and added a few drops of lavender essential oil to the rice. . .

i used some of my old jeans legs for handles on his.
it's been freezing, well even below freezing (it was like -18 here the other day) so i've even brought it in the car on the way to school with us to keep bubba warm. . . he calls it his
"heater thing"
i made myself a new one out of the old flannel sheet i picked up at the thrift store:i made kiko a heart one for valentine's day. . . it's a little odd shaped but you get the drift. . . first try and all. . .
i thought you could put it over your shoulders with your neck in the dip of the heart. . .
heat them in the microwave for 2 minutes then shake up up and you can do it for a min to a min and half more depending on how hot ya want it.