A New Year

Last night I went to retirement party for two of my previous co workers.  I have been retired from the Washington State Ferries now for 7 years and being invited and seeing some of my old cohorts was a hoot.  It's funny when you don't see someone for awhile, your recollection of them is 7 years younger.  Ahhhh the aging process, can be so cruel.

I was asked what I was doing these days and it reminded me that I hadn't been on my blog for awhile.  I have missed it.

I made a commitment to myself to make all the Christmas presents this year and with that came the stress.  I love creating and coming up with ideas on who was to get what, but I am a perfectionist at heart and with that I had to redo some things.  Next year I will start earlier.  I don't think I can correct the perfectionist in me.  I'm too old to want to change that.

I took a paper clay molding classes this last fall from Christy Meyers.  She has classes at www.rosesonmytable.ning.com website, if anyone is interested.  Anyway, the subject of the classes was Twinkling Eyes Santa Claus and Cindy Lou Who.  It was so much fun and I just love taking online classes as I can do them at my own pace.  I was up for hours making sure it was perfect.  HA!!

I found this great idea for picture holders in the magazine Somerset Home.  It is using old door knobs and it was a big hit with my family.  So easy to make and unique.

 Then I tried to paint a picture and put layers of resin on top.  Although this never was given as a present, (the perfectionist in me just couldn't do it), I learned alot.  I learned to not be so critical, that what I do is enough and it doesn't have to be perfect. 

That time of Year

It's getting close to Christmas and to start thinking about the gifts I am going to make.  I love making them as my family so appreciates what I do.  Of course, I only make gifts for the ones I know will like it and that I am sure to get a "how did you do that".  Right now I only have one complete and that is for  my brother.

When we were little we would always go to our grandma and grandpa Burnett's summer cabin in Suquamish, Wa.  We would catch the ferry to Kingston and the drive from there was about 20 minutes.  The cabin was about a block from the beach and there were bonfires every Thursday night.  All the neighbors would come down, we would roast marshmallows and hot dogs and just have a wonderful time.

When I was going through my stash of pictures, I found one of my brother and I when we were real young (Bill was 4 years old and I was 2), so I decide to make a shrine.

I am so excited for him to see and remember such a joyous time in ourr lives.

Halloween 2011

Every year I make Halloween boxes for my grandsons.  Usually it is a big one that is real interactive.  This year my daughter informed that the boys were really looking forward to the box I was going to create this year.  Needless to say, I had not planned on making one, but now I have created a tradition.  Is this how they start?

They light up from the back and the little ghouls scream when you push their stomachs.  They are both about 6" tall, so I didn't worry much about what to put in them. 
They haven't seen them yet, but soon and I hope they like them.  

Obsessed with shrines

Lately I have been making shrines, lots of shrines.  I visit the Roses on my Table website and Zinnia showed us how to make one from foam core, I made one from a box and two from tins.  I think I have found a new passion.  I am currently working on Halloween ones for my grandsons and I must say they are turning out cute. 

These were made with mint tins and are, you guessed it, The Wizard of Oz.

Family Reunion

Last night was the first annual Burnett family reunion.  Recently we found a nephew that we didn't know we had.  My youngest brother went to his grave not telling anyone that he had a son and by sheer coincidence my older brother found him. 

Two months ago Bill was having a drink at one of his favorite hangouts and mentioned to the bartender Sean,  that he looked an awful lot like our younger brother, Scott.  Bill asked him his fathers name and guess what?  It was Scott.

Bill texts me, I grabbed some pictures of Scott, run down to the bar and once Sean has contacted his mom, we have another nephew.

Last night was the night for Sean to meet the rest of the family.  He has two sisters, two aunts, an uncle, and lots of cousins.  Fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Great Great Grandpa Henry Varley

My Uncle John on my mother's side of the family is doing a family history and one of my many family members is Great Great Grandpa Henry Varley. He is the gentleman on your right. I made this shrine to honor him and his love of country.  Although he was in the calvary during the Civil War, he was a little farther west from the fighting.  He was in the 17th Calvary in Shenadoah, Iowa and wore his uniform proud.    I do not know the name of his buddy, but I hope they were friends.

Making ATC's

I have really been involved in the making and trading of Artist's Trading Cards for the last 8 years and have about 5 large three-ring binders.  For those who do not know what is an Artist Trading Card, it is a 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" card that you create your own masterpiece on.  It is the size of a standard playing card and when the craze first started out, that is what people used as their base.   It is amazing what one can come up with and it's amazing that every single one is different.  I do have a heck of a time displaying them though.  I have framed them, put them on cards, put magnets on the back and put them on the refrigerator. I could use any suggestions you may have as it is a shame to leave them in a book.

I used to go to trades all over the area, Seattle, Lynnwood, West Seattle, Bothell, Bellingham and Arlington and there were anywhere from 6 to 20 people participating.  It was a great opportunity to share ones art and make new friends.  In fact it had actually become a family affair.

When I first started with this art form, my daughter and her family lived in Berkeley, California and when I would go to visit I would take my oldest grandson, Duncan (who was 3 at the time) on treks to look for stuff.  I had told him all about ATC's and though he didn't have a clue what I was talking about, he so loved to make art with his grandma.  We would set out on our daily walk around the neighborhood and you could always find us with our heads down looking for really cool stuff to make our cards with.  Once we found a bottle cap that was rusty and wasn't all bent up, we found nail, a receipt from the local store, etc.  We would take our goodies home and pull out the playing cards and begin the journey.  At that time Duncan was really into using Scotch tape, so when I looked from working on my own card, he had piled and taped all of his treasures on his one card.  I would say, it was about six inches high.  He was so proud of himself.  He picks up his card, takes it to his mom and says, "look Mom, I made art."  It was the cutest thing.  It started a long road of creating for us and although he doesn't do art with me anymore (he's 11 now), he loves to create and build.