Paste Paper Waste Paper

I have been literally throwing myself into paste paper making. You'll get what I mean when you see my arm in one of the photos coming up. I use deli paper to clean my brushes, and to brayer paint off stencils in between color changes. Inspired by this beautiful paper Patty gifted me at last years Art and Soul, I decided to try and use my "waste paper" artistically so I could reuse it. Tell me if you like what you see. First, though, here is Patty's yummy paper. Visit her blog, her art is lovely and she is one classy dame.

You will have to click on photo to enlarge for a better look. Her paper is wrapped around a collage that I consider myself VERY LUCKY to have been gifted!! Thanks, again Patty. Still loving it a year later!
My deli papers:
This is how this one started.
And here it is complete. Next ones:



The deli paper on the left below is from my yankee's collage. Lou is still not home yet. I miss Lou and M. sigh.

Those are gold foil candy wrappers from Rouchet ? spelling could be wrong. And my Stewart Gill paints, yum yummy.
Ok, so I had some GunShot Wounded Hearts I previously printed out on acid free tissue. I decided to use the paste paint as glue and add them to a red deli sheet.


Here I am adding what I call "Ironic Bows" to the Gun Shot Wound deli paper. Notice my arm??? The tissue is from Blackberry Designs. Be very careful at thier site. You will overspend. You have been warned.

I may add these cool flames coming out of the hearts, too. The tissue is from the store Torrid. Not only is their tissue awesome, but they carry very sexy panties and lingerie for the ample, but still interested, woman. I'm just saying...... My next deli paper is embellished with a Phrenology head stamped onto acid free tissue. I had it waiting in my stash.

Flaming Hearts courtesy of the Torrid Tissue, again. I may or may not paste them on. Time will tell.
So that's the end of the deli paper dalliance. Now on to the paste papers. Here are the first layers of paint without embellishments:

Ok, kind of boring right? Here are the embellishment tools: stencils, stamps, contrasting paint etc:
Messy, messy, messy. I know, I know. It's a curse. Here's what happens next:
And what would a blog post be without gratuitous close ups:

In case you are wondering what in the name of all that is holy, that I will actually "do" with these papers, they will become backgrounds for my ATC's. So there. They do have a use. Not just to fill up the empty time in my empty life. Oh, did I type that out loud? teehee.
Hope you have enjoyed my latest foray into paper and paint. Please leave a comment. I need to feel the love. And nobody wants those quilt square kits I posted about last week? Free. Free. Free. Have I mentioned that they are free??? Next week I am going to post some tissue papers I probably will never use.

xoSusan

Experience Hendrix

I already posted about my Experience Hendrix well, um, experience. But due to faulty, sucky, camera issues I was unable to post photos. So without further ado, (ado has already ocurred: 2 USB cords and finally a Targus card reader/writer purchased later which actually Works) here are the best photos from the show. Keep in mind, we are in the FIFTH row, there is a highly annoying woman sitting in front of us, and M and I were both, how do I express this nicely, Highly Inebriated????
Here is Mr. Billy Cox, original bass player with Hendrix.

Mr. Jonny Lang. Very hot. Amazing guitarist. What's not to like???
Mr. Hubert Sumlin with Guess Who??

And, Drum Roll Please, My HERO, Mr. Buddy Guy. He is singing here "when I was a young boy, I used to play with RattleSnakes" and I BELIEVE HIM. He is bad, very, very, bad. If I was the kind of girl to throw her panties on the stage, they would have been airborne. But alas, those days are SO OVER that even DOGS KNOW THAT THEY ARE OVER.
Roll me baby, like my back Ain't Got No Bones......Hey a girl can hope......

xoSusan

Christmas Wrap Up

I'm so ready for the Holidays to be over. As a matter of fact this coming Sunday all the Christmas trappings go back into hibernation until next year. It sucks going through a breakup that started on Thanksgiving night, then ruined my birthday and Christmas. I know, put on my big girl panties and get over it. I'm trying!! Really, I am!

So here is my Show and Tell from this year:
My mantle in the tiny dining room which holds my Santa Collection.


The ceramic tree I painted about 25 years ago.
This years tree. Fake and demolished by the kitten. Lost 2 glass balls this year. Sigh.
Christmas Morning.
Sam and Buddy Guy with some of her loot.
Beautiful Papaya packaging.
Gift for Grace that was inside. Her office is lavendar. We're hoping Hope finds BOTH of us.


After Sam's father picked her up Christmas Day, Daniel stopped by for a little couch time. teehee.
xoSusan

I Smell A New Series

Ohhhh, can you smell it?? The idea brewing? Isn't that the most INCREDIBLE EXCITING ALIVE feeling on the planet, the BREWING IDEA? Ok, Ok, you feel me. The thing is, sometimes the reality of the work does not live up to the idea, but sometimes it does, and that is so worth the lessons learned from the ones that don't work. Capice?? Anyhoo, my new ATC series is called Special Wrongness. I have ONE so far. But there are more brewing up in my grey matter. Or is it Gray Madder?

Isn't he sinister, and so wrong in his own special way? And no, I haven't been drinking. It's only 9 am for heavens sake. Don't Worry--I am not abandoning my PhrenMen, they are my One True Love.

And now for something Completely Different:

I found this fantastic book "Eugenics and Sex Harmony- The Sexes, Their Relations and Problems". Copyright 1933. I paid 10 bucks for it at my fav antique shop. The cover is in immaculate shape. When I am done cannibalizing the pages, I'll make another book with the covers. I'm thinking it's gonna give me material for the next 5 years!! Living with a 15 year old makes this subject quite apropos.

And the next Blue Eyed Devil- I know I am beating this subject to death, but it's just so fun to spew out my anger with paper and glue! So for now, bear with me:

Don't you love the Forked Tongue?? The background is a file folder, purchased cheap, and sanded to remove the waxy coating. There are so many beautiful folders out there that are the perfect weight for ATC's. Paint won't stick, and the Inkssentials pen was rough, but chalk pencils and oil based watercolor crayons work well. Try it. Ok, ok, I'm done, For Now!!

xoSusan

Merry Christmas

This is the Christmas card I created for my family last year. I didn't have the mojo to make one this year so I'm sharing this one. Being a military family, we moved a lot, which is where the humor in my mom's thought bubble comes in. My sister Deb, is the Cinderella of the family and loves to clean. My little sister and I fought like cats and dogs. And precious boy?, he got a 1965 Mustang convertible for his high school graduation. It's a good thing we all have great senses of humor! My Dad and I at my sisters wedding. He is the smartest, funniest, classiest, most honorable man on the planet.
Mom at my sister's house. She is the smartest, funniest, classiest most honorable woman on the planet.


Christmas Morning Joy Past. I miss the old days. Now my 15 year old just wants CASH.

Merry Christmas to each and every visitor, "comment"er, and artist on my blogroll. Thanks for making this year so memorable. Please stop by again real soon.

xoSusan

Cocky Kris Kringles

Rod and Ed inspired me tonight. I was able to capture their personalities in ATC form:

I sure am enjoying making these. I crack myself up.

Mood Meter:

Art Therapy

Home from work today with a sick teenager. Worked on some ATC's that express how I've been feeling. Yeah, Art Heals. Just not Fast Enough. Here Goes:

I really like the colors of this one. I used Glaze pens for the stamens in the flowers and my Inkssentials white opaque pen for outlines. IMHO the Inkssentials pen is WAY superior to the Uniball Signo white opaque pen. Portfolio oil based crayons for color. I love my PhrenMen!

Next one:

This one has Lumiere paint on edges of paste paper that I created in Albie Smith's class at Art and Soul. Holy Run On Sentence Batman!! I really love the texture in the paper and tried to mirror it with the transp/alcohol shell transfer on her skin.

Art and Soul Update: I will not be attending. I was forced to cancel due to the shitty economy. I can't talk about that anymore, I will lose it completely. I did treat myself to LK Ludwig's Nature Journals book because I can't go to her workshop. I'm too lazy to link tonight. Google LK. You won't be sorry. Moving on....

This one speaks for itself. The words are inspired by a Snow Patrol song. Love that webbing spray.

Beauty, Men and Dick

Got your attention didn't I? Tonight I played with ATC's. The first quote is from Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing". I'm digging the Krylon Gold Spray Webbing. I can't find any other colors at Micheals or AC Moore. I'd love to get my hands on black. The hat is from a collage sheet from Artchix.

Next up is more webbing and a transparency/alcohol transfer of a shell on the womans face. You can't tell from the scan, but there is a lot of Stickles glitter glue going on in this one.


And tonights Grand Finale! One of the 70's Porn Stars dropped by and became the inspiration for this:

Some red German Scrap and Portfolio Oil Crayons color the wife beater on the porn star. The background is a photo I took at Longwood Gardens last year. Looking forward to this years visit with my sister and parents this Sunday. It's a tradition. Wishing you all the best traditions. xo

Antiques And Art

What a nice day today, and boy did I need it. Sam and I met up with Grace and Tori in Adamstown, Pa. We antiqued and lunched at Zia Maria's. Good Stuff. I made two purchases. I scored 25 tintypes for $12.00. They are very small probably 1" x 1 1/2". Nice variety of photos of men, women, children and families, and only a couple of duplicates. Here's a sample:

I also got these cool Italian cards.

I'm going to really enjoy making ATC's with these. If I can bring myself to alter them, they are so pretty.

And yes, Grace and I laughed our asses off and we did manage to embarrass our daughters. At one point they went off to see St. Lucia arrive. They later reported that the candles on her head were battery operated and she had jeans on under her dress. The Girls felt jipped. I think they were secretly hoping her hair would catch on fire. Anyhoo, while I was browsing solo, I couldn't help noticing all the happy couples. I had about a half hour of despair. Throw in some self pity and you are getting the picture. I know those feelings can foretell a full blown anxiety attack but the Girls found me and jollyed me out of it. Grateful am I. xo

Getting Back in The Game

Taking this whole break up thing an hour at a time. I'm OK, then I get sucker punched by a song or a sweet or sexy memory. I tried to keep really busy. I spent the day at the UPS store, shopped at Tuesday Mornings, (a cool designer type discount store) grocery store, bank, taking my daughter to the salon, and the veterinarian. My kitty, Buddy Guy, was neutered today. Poor confused boy was humping my 9 year old declawed Cat, PT Barnum. Declawed or not, BG was about to lose an eye if he kept up with the unwanted attention to PT's nether regions. I also did some gift wrapping, banking online and planning our trip to visit Grace and Tori in Adamstown tomorrow. After the 2 hour drive, we will antique, eat and laugh our asses off! Our teenager's will go off and talk about how mortifying we are to be around.
Obviously my mind set has influenced these ATC's I made tonight. Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.

This exhausted girl is hitting the sack. Wonderful Sunday to you.

xo

Tagged and Awarded

I have been tagged by two dear blog friends~ Diane and Sherry
Diane's blog has experienced a makeover, and it's lovely to look at, and Sherry's Christmas header is a lot of fun. Please check them out!
So now I must share six quirky facts about myself and tag six of my blog friends.
Here are the "official" rules....1. link to the person who tagged you 2. mention the rules 3. tell six quirky, yet boring, unspectacular details about yourself 4. tag six other bloggers by linking to them 5. go to each person's blog and leave a comment that lets them know they've been tagged.

Ok those were the official rules.
I'm gonna bend the rules here and not pick specific recipients. Check out any artist on my blog roll and you will be dazzled and inspired. Most of the artists have already been tagged and if you research thier previous posts you will find all thier quirky character traits listed. What Fun!

Now on with the shameless opportunity to talk about myself!

1. I had to have 2 hormone shots a day for WAY TOO LONG in order to conceive my daughter.
2. I am extremely vain about my hair. I'll spend 5 minutes on makeup but an hour on hair
   
3. I am addicted to Diet Pepsi. I will go back into a burning building to rescue my Diet Pepsi.
   
4. I love to swim.
   
5. At one time I was fluent in piano, flute and piccolo.
   

6.When I was in third grade I broke both of my arms at the same time. Here is the proof:

I have received a Blog Award from one Kick Ass Aussie, Lorri.

What the award stands for:

This blog invests and believes in PROXIMITY- nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement . Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to 8 bloggers who may then pass it on.

Ok I deliver this award to each and every blog on my blog roll!!! Thanks, Lorri!

MIA No More

I have not been creating, but want to share with you some absolutely gorgeous Christmas cards I purchased from PaPaYa:

For my soul sister Diane xo Whose faith is a beautiful thing...


For the new Mrs. McHugh!


For my Soul Sister's Lorri and Grace. OK, OK, I got one for me too, who could resist this hot elf!

And these next two are Christmas presents to myself!

What an artist to inspire my own humble creations, Anahata Katkin. I want to be her when I grow up. But I want to be Koko Taylor, Etta James, Nina Simone, Melody Gardot, Frida Khalo, and Barbie, too! I won't admit it to myself but I wouldn't mind a little Martha Stewart thrown in the mix!

Before M was just M and instead was My Heart, we saw Buddy Guy live. It was very considerate of M to get tickets, he'd seen Buddy numerous times already. Perhaps it was my repeated comments, "I HAVE to see Buddy Guy before I die" that led him to treat me to 5Th row seats to see My Hero. The concert was a tribute to Jimi Hendrix and the musicians were all amazing. Besides Buddy, Jonny Lang, Doyle Bramhall II, Hubert Sumlin, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Hendrix's original drummer Mitch Mitchell and bassist, Billy Cox played. Mitch Mitchell has since passed away. We were very fortunate to be able to witness his talent first hand.

Not long after that concert we saw Susan Tedeschi. She is touring to promote her new album, "Back to the River". It was an amazing concert, it seemed to be over in minutes. We were WAY lucky that Susan's husband, Derek Trucks, was in town with his own band. He snuck out on stage and played an encore with Susan. It was incredible. My only complaint? That they won't adopt me and let me hang out on their tour bus.

The question comes to mind "what possibilities remain?" Carol Shields wrote this question in one of my favorite novels of all time, "The Stone Diaries". Perhaps my expectations have been too high. I am of the age where I fully understand that love is mostly what you can "tolerate". I don't mean settle. I hate that word. Love, I believe, at this age, is mostly about being able to tolerate someone else having different ideas and ideals, styles of doing things, ways of communicating. One of my most difficult struggles over the years, has been coming to terms with the fact that "my time" is not the same as someone else's. Whether it's a mundane subject like when they are gonna get the trash out to when they are going to be ready to commit, it can't be done in "my time". Man, is that a heard lesson to learn and re-learn and re-learn.

Have you heard -" 40 is the Old Age of Youth, and the Youth of Old Age"?

It is time to acknowledge that my Picker is broke.  Has my Picker permanently left the building?

In case there is any doubt, let me go on the record and say, I love men. In person, it shows. My Art is where I let my Anger have free reign. I hope not to be bitter, but to be resigned to reality. Humor is my best defense. Although the words used in my Art can be negative and dark, do not overlook the humor. It is there, thank goodness. When the humor goes, I will hang up my thongs for good.

xo

Susan