There's just Some Days

There are just some days that it is not worth it to get out of bed.  You know the ones that I am talking about.  It seems that long before you open your sleepy eyes there was something stirring.  Something that was up to no good.  In our case it was a basset hound that lives up the hill.  That is what started the chain reaction.  Husband gets up (totally unaware as usual). Gets girls, takes outside.... and then BAM like a shot their off.  Running up the hill to catch the loud mouthed basset hound.  So now you know the Chinese fire drill that ensued.  The chaos that rained down in the house.  The phone ringing with the days business calls,  the tears the wringing of hands, yes, yes, you see, you have been there.  Perhaps not with dogs but with something else. But you have been there.  So now after all the chaos (Patches with a cut over her eye Jinny none the worse) and me wishing that I could rewind time and start over.  So after a long hot shower and a few deep breaths I am starting my work today.  Hopefully this is all that will ensue.
So first order of business
I want to just give props to Tumblr!  If you don't have an account you should get one and quick.  It is the best way to share the kinds of things that artist like to share even if you are not artistic you would have to love this tool.  Tumblr is what I would call a mini blog.  It has the great featurs of twitter but gives you the ability to attach a pic to your banter.   I have found so much inspiration!  It is just a great fit so check it out.  It also has a fantastic app for you iphone so you can post on the go. So look me up there too. Jeweled Frog Creations 
For Sale

Yes that's right For Sale.  I hate to see it go.  I am going to say bring your best offer.  So pass it along.  Yes it works.  I have just had the clutch replaced.  It needs a bed kit.   I just never got around to do that.  It is a 1951 Farm Truck and in its day could pull a ton.  It has  the origional engine.  I have not cranked it in 6 months but I am sure that it does crank.  It is a great truck.  It is painted a deep cherry (black cherry) and has a couple of rust spots but nothing that would  be of concern.  So if you know someone please repost or tweet or tumblr or stumble.  How ever you get the word out.

So I am off now until next time or check out for daily post on my Tumblr.

Dog Treats

Yes dog treats!  And oh the money you shall save!  First I have to give props to Christine and Co for doing the research and finding this great web site that gives loads of easy recipes for dog lovers.  Bullwrinkel.com has made my list for the go to place when I want to stock up on dog treats.  They even have a "Milk Bone" recipe.  I have made the "Peanut Butter Dog Biscuits"

I used a stamp to put little four leaf clovers on the cookies or treats, for the lucky pooches. It also flattened them out into the perfect disk.  

I also created some hand rolled dog bones since the dough was easy to handle.

Finally for the real test.  The test of taste.  These are my little tasters.  Nothing passes out of the kitchen especially if it is made for dogs with out a taster and these two are mine.  Patches and Ginny my little squirrels.  (squirrels because they are always running around)  When I took this photo they where waiting for the fresh backed treat.  You can see by the attention that they are giving me that indeed I hold something that required the total attention.

Tangible Collage Work

I do mean the word tangible.  I am, in a very strange way glad that I have been pushed in this direction.  It seems these things have been trying to come out and now have the chance to be produced.

What I did 
Since I have been without Adobe Photo Shop and Illustrator I have had to think in the material realm once again.  So for these items I have used a lot of different things.  I have covered some of the tags with pattern tissue paper.  It provides a great look and feel to items that have not quite reached that vintage color yet. I have also add some sealing wax to take you mind back to the time when a sealed letter was a treasure to get and open.  I also used Shipping paper.  It has a nice texture and adds sturdiness to the tags.  And if I had anything that looked like it was white I painted it with burnt umber (very watered down that is)

Little Avery tags and old wall paper pulled together with linnen yarn make a collage come together. 

 These are being offered at my etsy store, Frogs Attic.  Just want to say thank you for dropping by again and I look forward to your return.  Until next time have a wonderful weekend. 
 

The Soft Voice of Dreams

The cold Wet Tragedy
Yes not soon after the stroke of midnight came a taste of what was in store.  My son created a tent on our bedroom floor to celebrate New Years.  While I brushed my teeth unaware that calamity was lurking in the form of a cat (not sure which cat but rest assured it was a cat), my son and husband attempting to scoop out the last of the treats left in the sand box and tidy up for the night.  With in this short time window it happened.  We all returned to our bedroom and turned out the lights when my son who had bounded in his makeshift tent with my large down comforter on the floor as a mattress.... screamed!  My tent is wet.  The shock and horror of it all. Yes that nagging thought as we raced to turn on the lights and there in the middle of the down filled comforter was what looked like a gallon of cat pee.  Thinking quickly I ran into the bathroom and started to dab the offending liquid up. GOD my hands touching the lukewarm liquid.  There is not enough hot water or germ-X to cleanse my tainted hands.  Thank goodness for Egyptian cotton at over 1000 count.  Let me tell you it was able to be laundered and came out wonderful.  As for the culprit who knows as for the tent NEVER AGAIN.


The Second Horror 

It was not soon the next day when we settled down for Home School that I notice that the computer my dear sweet little Mac needed to be restarted.  After shutting down and the attempt to power up I noticed that it sounded like a small metal beetle had been turned loose inside it's precious little silver body.  A small one but a dangerous one.  Ones who's sole job was to disable and render my little Mac. useless.  The tears the devastating feeling.  OMG just does not cover it.  8 years and not one problem. Not one thing that was out of sorts or hiccup.  Nothing.......
So all I can say is you shall have to tune in Friday to see what the Mac. specialist says about it's prognosis.

Pillow Talk 
Ok so I can't walk around down in the dumps.  I think I would be severally justified though in this case.  I mean after all I work on my computer.  I get paid via my work on my computer.  I create on my computer.  I see the world on my computer and I communicate via my computer.  So It is like having my sight dimmed or loosing an arm.  I am F---ed.  Yes that is the word dejour.  I think I sound like a clucking chicken.  So I go to sleep that night with the prayer on my lips of please show me or great giver of the universe show me a path to go in.  Needless to say I dreamed the path.  After all I am a mixed media artist so I should be able to switch gears.
(In my last post I blogged in regards to meditation and well here is the fruit of it.)

And here is what I came up with.
In my dream I remembered an email that I had gotten from Green Paper a talented artist herself.  This little email had some images and a challenge to create something using the elements that where contained with in her email / post.  So as my dream proceeded to show me a few varing ways to combine them it ignited that wonderful desire to create and proved to be stronger than the grief of loosing my computer.  

This was my first attempt.  I used old pattern paper for the edge and some silk ribbon and eyelet a wax seal and dripping to add contrast. I let the roses and leaves hang just over the edge.   Just the feel of the paper brought back a bit of passion.  And that was what I needed.  So holding on to this feeling.  I printed out another bit of the same images.  This was my second work.

I combined some of the same elements this time and used the wax stamp also here.  (images are just going to have to be this way due to the fact I have to use my iPhone now why?  Because I don't have a computer to up load from my professional camera.

My last attempt.  This one is my favorite.  Simple and clean and I have added my lace work (I tat too) I also put the pattern paper over the printed out element to age it and give it that wonderful color of old paper.  I put the wax seal on the little Avery key disk (I think the next time I will make the seal a bit bigger)


For the backs I just could not stop.  I love things that are good both front and back.  I cut some packaging paper and then distressed it by wadding it up over and over and over again then glued it to the back.  Not only did it finish it off just added a sturdy feel. 

A Reminder

If you don't follow already you may want to check out my give away It will close at the end of this week so Click on here to see the all the whoo ha ha

New Year Promises

 I am saying a mouth full
The new year is here and with promises of good behavior and actions.  But why wait for the first of the year.  Any day can be a new beginning, a fresh start, a "new year".  So this "new year" I promise my self to make reasonable obtainable goals and the ability to start fresh every day.  First reasonable obtainable goal is that I would like to loose a bit of weight about 25lbs total.  I would like to loose at least 2lbs every week.  To do that I will eat a reasonable breakfast of fresh fruit and grains.  (I usually don't eat breakfast) Now you notice that I broke this first goal down into parts that are smaller goals.  Things that I can succeed at instead of over all thought or ideas.

Meditation for Creativity


I also am am aiming at getting up earlier and meditating.  I have found that meditation increases my productivity and ideas in my art.  It opens a place in my brain that I can use to gain ideas and goals in my creativity.

The third items is to be better at documentation my journey.  I need to see where I have been and where I am going.  How I got there and the stumbles and successes along the way.  I need to remember the successes that I have had and to celebrate them and use them to give energy to moving forward.  I need to remember the stumbles to avoid them and learn from them.

There you have it three things that I want to keep in my mind.  I will be letting you gain peeks and insight along my journey so that you can see you are not alone in your journey and so that it will keep me honest.  Accountable to what I have promised my self.  So many times we make these promises to ourselves and then our promises die in the same vain that they where uttered, in silence.  But they are still there, still broken and still added to our karma.  So this year I shall endeavor to change this karma that I have.

Who can Meditate?

Oh please! Anybody can do it.  If you have a favorite prayer you can use that.  Rosary or Malia or just sitting quietly and silencing your inner voices can add peace and spark that middle eye of ideas.  Start slowly at first just a few minutes and then move on to more and more.  Be sure to practice this everyday and try to do it at the same time every day.  Create a peaceful area, take the phone off the hook and put a do not disturb sign so that wandering husbands and children don't stumble in and interrupt your time.  Think of it as a time to recharge your battery. 



 40 Day Challenge 
I am starting a 40 day meditation cycle to  log my progress and the ideas that come out of this experience.  Is this the first time I have done this?  NO.  I have done this before and have gotten some fantastic results.  Including a result that will be published this coming March in "Digital Studio" magazine.  But that is for another post.  The thing is this will give you a fresh perspective on your art work and isn't that what its all about.  There are also some other benefits that come with meditation.  This is what (along with my art life) I will be blogging about in the next 40 days. And it will be a challenge.  Recently I have lost the ability to work on my computer due to its age. Don't worry I am getting it repaired but the thing is it is has challenged me to think in a different way.  To go to the tangible for a while.

I use this to help with my mantra pronunciation.

Helpful sites to get your Mantra on:

Mantra Meditation
Mantra made easy (an explanation of what a mantra is and some helpful hints)
From breathing exercises that will help you control and maintain a level emotional and calm state to helpful insights that will make your experience with meditation a positive one. 

Give Away

Because I feel so strongly about this I would like to offer you a book that will give you some insights and help along the way.  I am giving away the "Stages of Meditation" By The Dalai Lama. Just leave a comment here.   If you would like a better chance in winning this tweet about it and just include a @jeweledfrog so that I can see it.  This give away will close at the end of next (1/12/11)  week.  You must be following this blog and leave a comment here on this post. Above all encourage each other in success this year!  Lets communicate our support to each other and create a difference.