spying

I drove into our driveway after a quick trip to the grocery store

and spied this scene from my car

(truly - cross my heart)

I am so happy I had my camera

virtual friends and other kinds too

... yesterday I took a ferry from Anacortes to Victoria BC ...

I was meeting up with a virtual friend and fellow blogger

the ferry ride was serene:

I was able to make headway through a somewhat tedious YA romance favorited by my daughters:

(lately I've been looking for touchstones and conversation starters)

once there, I met another blogger Karen Berger, a friend of my blogging friend Elizabeth

we very quickly fell into chatter and laughter - finding so much in common

and discovering so much that was unique to each one

we enjoyed  pub lunch and let's just say LOTS of talking and laughing:

karen, kim, elizabeth
(note: my bottled hair color is finally all grown out)

the three of us - fascinating women, smart and gifted, moms, survivors

... and that's not all ...

I made a friend on the bus with a lovely Canadian lady and an amazing life story to tell

and the ferry ride home I talked the entire time with a woman who teaches high school art in Montana

my take-away:

listen more

life is short

bridges between people can be found everywhere

and on the trip home, the sun made an appearance over Friday Harbor

all in all it was one extremely fine day

flotsam and jetsam

today was our annual beachcombing trek up north

it's a tiny little beach at the site of an old dumping ground

and I read in the news that it's slated for environmental cleanup

:(

I pick up the larger pieces of glass for my photo transfers

there's an abundance ... and I have a hard time knowing when to quit

we ended up with about 10 lbs of glass and pottery

*

here is a close up photo of the tiny bits of glass mixed in with broken shells and pebbles:

and the drive home was through my favorite farmland

all in all - it's been one extremely fine day

one fine day 11

we made organic strawberry jam on this one fine day

(6 lbs yielded 12 jars of varying sizes)

most of it will be for my sister's family who all love their p.b. & j.'s

(not my kids - can you believe it? - I grew up on it - and you probably did too)

origami love

 another "ever since I was a kid" thing

do have a lot of those?

something you have always loved?

folding a flat square of paper and turning it into a bird is a particular kind of miracle

(teabag paper soaked in beeswax, then folded, then reheated to meld the wax even further)

*

"meld" - that word always makes me think of Spock

:)

out on the town

... what a fun afternoon ...

we got to see the live performance of Prairie Home Companion

(at Chateau Ste. Michelle in Woodinville)

did you listen to it on NPR today?

I love this radio show and have listened in since the early 80's

it's been on air since 1974

... watched it live with my darling - the kids were at home listening on the radio ...

so cool!

Garrison giving us the news from Lake Wobegon

Fred Newman, Tim Russell, and Sue Scott performing Guy Noir Private Eye

on stage

"I want you to clean your room"

... something I say at least once a day ...

meanwhile, my workspace is a complete disaster

(until today)

before:

after:

it's time to mess it up again, dontcha think?

and so the summer begins

 school just got out yesterday

 why are the last couple of weeks are such a frenzy of activity?

 field trips and band concerts and talent shows and graduations and final exams

it makes one want to lie down on the green grass and just look up at things

one fine day 10

the dishes are done,

everyone is home,

and the youngest one says, "Mom, come see the hummingbirds outside the window"

I missed the hummingbirds

but it's 6:52 pm

and I can say it has been one fine day

photo transfer tutorial

(beware: lots of photos)

I have been busy the last 2 days creating these, 

and took pictures along the way to show you how I did it

*

(this is by far the easiest method I have found for photo transfer)

you will need:

ink jet printer or copier photographic prints

heavy paper (cardstock or watercolor paper)

mod podge or acrylic medium

medium sized paintbrush

fine grade sandpaper

beeswax (optional)

bone folder

soft rag or towel

1. print your images and cut or tear along the edges removing any white border

(before your next step, check your paper's texture - if it is smooth, don't worry. If it is bumpy, give it a quick sanding to smooth it down a bit. I do that when using watercolor paper)

 2. apply mod podge or acrylic medium to the heavy paper (NOT the print). 

Apply the acrylic about a half inch greater than your image size

3. lay your print face down in the wet mod podge and rub it down firmly with your thumbs

4. let it dry for 4 hours or more (I like to leave it overnight)

5. apply water to the ink jet paper backing - let it really saturate the paper

6. after a minute or so, you can begin rubbing the paper and peeling it off

 7. use a towel to get the last bits of paper

 8. don't worry if there are still some nubbly bits of paper left

9. just sand those bits with your fine grade sand paper

this is how it most likely will look at this point:

(notice the blotchy parts - that is to be expected and is a desired effect)

here are my four transfers before the next step:

10. dip your image into hot beeswax

(I heat my beeswax in an aluminum pie tin in a 300 degree oven)

11. use tweezers to lift it out and drip dry

12. lay your transfer(s) on aluminum foil on a baking sheet and return to your 300 oven for about 5 minutes

 13. when your prints have cooled, use a bone folder to scrape off the excess wax

14. use your soft rag or towel to give them a final buffing. Your prints may feel a little bit tacky from the fresh wax, but after a few days it will have cured and will be smooth and soft as silk.

I like how they look in the light:

*

about the photos:

the woman is from my collection of anonymous old photographs - isn't this an amazing photo?

the text on her photo is from the bible - proverbs 31 - "strength and dignity are her clothing"

the barns photos are all taken by me from various trips up to the Skagit Valley - a rural landscape of lonely buildings in a place full of fog and mist and rain

*

keeping busy and feeling better

xoxo