Something Two Crow About

Don't throw away that magazine just yet......

Ok! So this is probably not what you expected to see..as I told you I was going to get outside and doing a little nature study! I sometimes really need to push myself to go out that door. I really don't know why that is. I am not much for hanging around outside unless we are camping and such. I really don't care much for the hot weather...and honestly....I don't like the feeling of being sweaty n stinky LOL I have enough of that with hot flashes and night sweats LMAO Actually it is no laughing matter I just need to get off my duff and take my arse outside! I will try!

This is a new page in my art journal! I am working...ahem..playing with a few new things....the face images you have seen the last couple days are images from magazines...magazines seem to always have an endless use for me...just when I think it is safe to toss them in the trash...some new idea comes to me ;)

A Little Tutorial.......

Here is what I did....I found a face image and then lightly gesso'd over the face...so that I could still somewhat see what was underneath.....I then took a lighter paint color and painted in where light touched the face...I then went back in with a darker color for the shadows.....and then painted the lips and eyes a totally different color....for the darker details ie around the eyes, eyebrows, nose and mouth area I used a dk brown colored pencil...ever so lightly and there you have it...an image to call your own! You can also gesso over the background...on some of them I followed the flow of their hair style and did much the same technique as I did with the face (shadows and light) This came to me after flipping through the card prompts of Wide Open by Randi Feuerhelm-Watts! I love these cards and the most excellent little journal that comes along with the cards!  I have done many of these face images in the last couple of days...painting just seems to soothe my soul! ;) I still have yet to document the colors I used etc and then attach it to the journal entry. That way my little brain don't forget what I did LOL

If you try this leave me a link...I'd love to see it!!!! :)

Right now it is Thursday May 31st at 12:37 A.M. I went to lay down shortly after dinner time...I just felt extremely exhausted...So now the house is quiet and I can play a bit at my desk and art away!!!! :)

Over and out! Happy Creating!

Nance 

Just Stuff...

Hello Y'all!

More art journal pages! This is another page to be bound into one of my journals! I didn't like how it was so I re-worked the page adding other elements. Now I like it lol...It's a bit on the warped side..like the owner...but I think it adds a uniqueness to it.

And this art journal page is from my newest journal! I haven't got the cover done yet but slowly adding this and that to it. I can't tell you how many journals I have going at the moment! I lost count hehe...but now my cubed shelf is cleared off a bit...cuz look what the neighbors gave me!!!

So it's used! Big hairy deal! It's free! lol And now I have everything right at hand! They got a new desk and asked if we wanted their old one! I said "Hell ya!" Thank you Nell! I will post this on Flickr with notes attached so y'all can see whats what! ;) So now all to do is move my inspiration board because the desk blocks it from my view. Ha! I just thought of where it is going! See that printer off to the left? Right above it is a view into the kitchen...not such a great view lol so that is where its going! I will probably clean off the board and add new inspirations! :) 

It will be one hot day today...I can feel it already! I think the kids and I will head out side with our journals and do some nature study! Thanks to Kira www.starchildartworks.com/blog and her wonderful inspirations!  I will show that tomorrow and what it's all about and some piccy's from this weekend at Lowe's Motor Speedway! I don't know if any of you gals are Nascar fans...but this gal is! Boogity boogity boogity! And no I didn't get a pic of Dale Jr's bum! :(  hehe  Next year we are camping out in the infield...maybe then I can sneak a shot! ;)

Much love and hugs to all!

Nance

Add 2 styles and stir together...

After mentioning the bright and quirky...I said wth why not...so I got out all my stuff and came up with this...pretty simular to what I use to do with all the Zetti stuff...and then came this....Weird...definately! But I like it.....

I then combined the vintage and the quirky together and came up with these.....Im not sure im totally in love with them just yet....but the very last one where I doodled little buildings while I was on the phone...it was a long phone convo...and i wasnt really particularly paying attention to exactly what I was doodling...kinda of a lazy bored doodle....1 im not a good doodler and 2 y'all know how I hate talking on the phone lol...Anywho!

Kids are out of school here and they actually slept til 8am...works for me lol...and now at the dining table with all their artsy supplies and ready to create...so I am off and hopefully I can sneak a photo or two in! ;)   

Much love and hugs and Happy Creating!

Nance

Copyright2007 Nancy Baumiller All Rights Reserved

2nd post for Monday!

"The Book of Hmmm" ! One of my many altered books! Now available at Crowabout on Etsy!!!!!

There are a few views of the pages in my shop! Come see!

If you take a peek come back and let me know what you think!

Hurry! lol

Much love and hugs!

Nance

Daze Confused

Wow did I have my days mixed up LOL...It is next weekend I won't be here! hehe But I did get a chance to clean up my desk! Organize images and toss out stuff.

After all that I put together this journal page "The Wish Jar" I don't know where these pages are coming from...alot more vintage working it's way into my pages. Very different from what I was doing with bright colors and quirky people images. I am enjoying it though...I guess that is all that matters. It is a never ending learning process.

This second page "A Tree Grows Here" (both pages done on wallpaper) I love the feel of this one...The whitish background is actually a scrap piece of paper that I was using to do my stamping and gluing on LOL....Well...I like it! hehe So much so that I have another scrap sitting on my desk for stamping and glueing on ...who knows where it will end up! :D

I am not feeling very well lately...having stomach problems again...I think it is my arthritis acting up cuz I feel it in all my joints too. I just might grab my camera and head outside to snap some photos and get some fresh air. And then maybe a hot bath....the bath might not help but it sure will be nice to sit in the tub and relax without someone knocking at the door.

Happy Creating!

Nance

Copyright2007 Nancy Baumiller All Rights Reserved

New Stuff!

Howwwwwwwwwwwdyyyyyyyyy! Y'all!

Mighty strange things have been occuring on my work desk! I'm not sure what is happening..but I am enjoying the heck out of it!

All these pieces will be available at Crowabout on Etsy later tonight....At least that is my hope to have them in their by then! Come by and have a visit..if you want to take a peek my Etsy link is over to the left in the sidebar! I just may have these in there a bit sooner!

Because tomorrow we are going through the whole house...whats not being used, too small, broken, don't like will be thrown out! To be honest my house is getting to look a bit cluttered and getting tired of looking at the same ol stuff day after day! It looks a bit dull and needs some sprucing up!

This first piece "Good ol' days" I just finished this morning! The center image is of my Grandpa on my Mothers side...riding bikes with his brother. The image in the bottom right corner is of my Grandparents. And off to the left of it is an image of my Aunts and Uncle the girl with the name 'Vera" is my Mother! I like this piece it brings back so many wonderful memories of my Grandparents! And times spent with my Aunts and my Uncle!

This second piece "She Loved" a little bit about me as a child. I am sure some of you that have gotten to know me will giggle at a few of the things I liked to do as a child! ;)  Let it be known, I also did alot of tree climbing and going out into the pear orchard with my siblings and find the mushy pears and stick fire crackers in them and throw them near each other so when the fire cracker went off you got slimmed in pear! LOL Thinking about it now it doesn't sound very safe..does it! lol  We all lived through it without a scratch! :D I also used to love going up to the church yard where there was a small playground and there was one of those cement cylinders you could climb through and it sat under a tree so during the summer it was nice and cool inside it and would sit in there and read for hours. I used to climb up on top of our house and read there too where there was shade! Shhhhhhhhhh don't tell Mom. hehe

"The Path" Just in case you can't read it here it reads, "The path in which you travel will become easier when you find the courage to overcome the obstacles". I am sure you can tell I have been using more and more of my rubber stamps and having a blast with them!

And for the last piece "Spill It" which really has nothing to do with the journaling but rather just letting go and try everything that comes to mind without hesitation. The image in this piece is of my siblings and I when I was approx. 1 years old. I am guessing. I wasn't happy that my Sister was holding me still for a photo. It looks like a Sunday...possibly Easter Sunday because we are all dressed up.

Speaking of Sunday...I won't be around till later in the evening so if you find something you want in my Etsy shop...I will respond later that night or early Monday morning! So, I best get on the ball and take care of a few things and maybe sit back down at my work table and play some more! :)

Enjoy your weekend and hope you find time for some Happy Creating!

Nance

Copyright2007 Nancy Baumiller All RIghts Reserved 

Music has been a big influence to my art journaling lately...It is not always music that gets me going...there are many other influences...family, friends, events...and all around daily life! Inspiration can come from just about anywhere!

I find that journaling comes to me in a letter form (as writing a letter to someone) I write it as if I am talking or telling someone about my day and life as it is. Song lyrics may pop into my head or just from listening to the radio  while working in my journal and then I just write or stamp it out on the page.

Sometimes I will pre-paint the pages and other times I will paint to fit the mood I am in. Red for instance...It's bold, energetic, and also the color of passion! My Mom loves red, she wears it almost daily! No wonder the gal is so spunky! This wonderful lady is in her 80's and works full-time 9 to 5...5 days a week! To hear the energy of her voice on the phone is contagious! She's one great lady!

My images most always follow the paint...Sometimes I will choose images that seem fitting and for other times (I keep a small open box on my desk and plunk images into it, small scraps too) and I will reach in it and grab the first thing my hand touches and glue it down on my page.  Good thing that the box is too small for my cat to sleep in! LOL Talk about your fat books! hehe

As you can tell, I write about anything! Most everything you read has either really happened or thoughts that cross my mind. I am a very open person and I believe in order for my art to be real...then so do I. I am one who is not afraid to speak my mind, I say what I feel! It encourages me to be who I am and to not be afraid of it or worry about what others think. Oh I am not saying that I am on top of things...this has always been a struggle for me to be who I am and not care what people think or say. I am very self-conscious! We not only have to accept whats on the outside but inside as well. And I have no reason to be self-conscious! Really! And neither do you! Think about it....If others dont like what your flaws are...then they are the ones who are not happy with themselves! Don't stop being yourself on their account! Our main goal on this earth is to be happy! Why not now!? Life is short afterall! Our journey does not end when our time on earth is through...it continues on...only in a different form. Our body is just a vessle that our soul travels in.

Now, how did we get from journaling to the depth of life? Because they go hand in hand! If per chance my time should end....will my art and my journal speak for me?  Now go! Be who you are! Be Real!!!!!!

Much love and Happy Creating!

Nance

Copyright2007 Nancy Baumiller All Rights Reserved

Saturday and Mother's Day...

On Saturday I took Sarah into downtown Lancaster SC...If it were not for traffic you could declare it a ghost town. No one walking and not much of anything going on.

We decided to go into the coffee shop Cop-a-Squat...We had ourselves a Latte. Yes I finally got one! lol Being from the NW they did not know what a 'snickers' latte was...So the lady asked if I wanted a Mocha carmel...erm ahh no...I said it is pretty much like a Mocha...Chocolate syrup, caramel and hazelnut...Sarah had an Iced Cafe Latte and then we sat and wrote and doodled in our art journals. We got a lot of strange looks...Why so strange we thought...This place is full of local art! As we got ready to leave I had doodled and colored in on the back of a receipt and along with a dollar I plunked them both into the tip jar...The lady behind the counter gave me a strange look and went right to the tip jar...with eye brows raised like WTF...I grinned and we walked out.

We then walked up and down the sidewalks of town...not much to see...I did take some photos of local artists work...as shown above... and this interesting piece hiding around a corner

And a few shots of buildings I found interesting (not the best shots btw)   Ha! A pink building!

I was drawn to these windows and I simply love brick buildings

The center of the brick building...Pretty boring place eh? Zzzzz...Tennessee was a bit more exciting...at least they had interesting old shacks and barns and other buildings and a bit more friendly! Ok alot more friendly.

On Sunday...Mother's Day..btw I hope everyone enjoyed their day...I spent the morning hours washing clothes...Sundays and Wednesdays are laundry days here at my house..the afternoon was spent preparing dinner...I threw some skinless/boneless chicken breasts in the ol' crock pot with some garlic flavored chicky broth..made up a yummy marinade/glaze for the chicken...(for later cooking) About a 1/2 cup bbq sauce, brown sugar and a few dashes of McCormick's Grill Mates Spicy Montreal Steak seasoning....Yummmmmmmy! Sweet and Tangy! I made a huge potato salad, corn, homemade biscuits and an apple cobbler for dessert! While in the midst of all this...Our 3 girls asked for 3 large pieces of drawing paper....I'm like ok....(their up to something) Three hours and a popcorn fight later they came out of their hiding spot in the bedroom and told me to stay in the kitchen while they plastered this lovely gigantic piece to the living room wall...each of the 3 girls did a section...The first was our youngest..Jessica..the center was created by our oldest..Sarah and the last section by our middle daughter..Natima! I'm telling you what...my heart jumped and burst with pride and told them each individually how much I loved them and big hugs that followed! The best treasures are the ones made with love! 

This was also the day 6 years ago that Bob and I decided that we would be together for the rest of our lives! I remember that day like it was yesterday...I went to lunch with my Mom and Dad and oldest brother and took my two wee little girls with me (they were 2 and 3 at the time) Bob took advantage of the quiet house and the lazy boy recliner while we were out and held down the fort...Lunch was the least to say...crazy...my youngest was having her little hissy fits the whole time...later that day after telling Bob about all this he called his sister to watch the girls...We went to dinner at Denny's (ya nothing fancy but it was relaxing there) we had a few drinks and sandwiches in the bar section of the resturant. He has always been good at turning a crazy day into a good one.

And last but not least a photo of our Mr. lazypants aka Mr. Felix nappin in his favorite chair, full of pillows that I made. He enjoys them anyways! ;)

Hope your day is filled with little things that warm your heart!

Happy Creating!

Nance

Out of the comfort zone

Yesterday morning after arguing with myself...I said why not! I stuck my face in the scanner and while waiting for it to scan...If my oldest daughter should walk out of her room right this minute..she would be standing there with the look of..Ok shes dun lost it look! lol

Life is about taking chances and being who we are! An I should kick myself in the arse for not doing this sooner! Whilst looking at this scan of myself...I thought..Man! Is my forehead really that high?! LMAO Should I have at least had one cup of coffee first? Or at least brushed my hair! Which brings me to the title of this journal entry.."Raw". This is me first thing in the morning with my face plastered to the scanner! Not the most beautiful creature in the morning but it's me..real life.

No! My washing machine is not broke...just the one in my dream..Which I have yet to figure out! It was a strange one! Really strange! THE DREAM.. Here I am in someones basement to wash some laundry..they told me you have to turn the knob on the water spicket(or what ever you call it) and warned me that it was a little tricky...well I definately found that out quickly! I turned the knob and it came off in my hand and water started spouting everywhere..I got up on top of the washer to try to stop the water..but to no avail..with water quirting in my face and choking me and silencing my pleas for help....the room quickly flooded with water and here I am on top of this manic washing machine floating across the room with either people running or just standing there and thats where the dream ended...I woke to my husband patting my arm saying its alright baby...he later told me I was crying in my sleep. Now tell me what in the hell kind of dream is that anyways? Feel free to analyze this one! Cuz I don't have the first clue LOL

I know my life is crazy (but ya so am i) and that's beside the point...but these dreams I have are just flippin' downright nutz! ....Makes one wonder! To be completely honest...I am glad it is just a dream! lol Weeeeeeeeeeeee-doggie!

Signing off...The lunatic in the south!

Happy Creating!

Nance

Copyright2007 Nancy Baumiller All Rights Reserved ....I really don't know who would be crazy enough to own up to a dream like that anyways...except me! 

Pages from my Art Journal

Three new pages from my art journal!

I am a confused soul these days..I know I know! When am I not! Just more so lately..seems this "change of life" is getting the best of me! I hate to speak about this but here it goes anyway..Those times of the month are getting closer together and Now...I am a constant PMS wreck! It never ends! I'm serious! I am a total grump! Hand me a straight jacket and throw me in the local nuthouse! lol I am not a grumpy soul! You all know this! It is not me! I will be glad when all this is over with! PMS free days...I am so ready for that!

I actually went to bed last night before the kids did! I was so sick of being grumpy that tears streamed down my face...my hubby unmade the bed and I crawled in and he tucked the covers around me and kissed my forehead. I laid there for the longest asking God what is wrong with me? Make this go away already! Please! ....Today I am going to do what it takes to make this a better day! So please be patient with me if I sound edgy in emails etc. Most of you know that normally (what ever that is) I am a goof ball. And all this PMS crap shall pass.

On this page I used a piece of vintage wallpaper I purchased from Patty http://ramblingrose.typepad.com and I wrote all over it! I should be ashamed LOL But I'm not! I love how it gives interest to the page under all that writing! There was a mishmash of images laying on my desk so I just started grabbing and pasting them down.

This page...I do not like so much...if you read it you can tell I was a bit grumpy at the time "Deliberate"...after loading this piece I realized that the first piece is titled "Liberated" I know that they mean two totally different things but I hate to say this too but...Isn't it ironic...ok that made me laugh...

Alright! I'm outtie here!

Happy Creating!

Nance

Copyright2007 Nancy Baumiller All Rights Reserved