brothers in arms

you may remember an earlier post "photo transfer - 3 ways"

(I had featured this same photograph of my dad and his younger brothers)

for this quilted piece, I used fabric transfer paper 

(made by Avery and found in the printer paper department)

I used tea bag paper alternating with old music sheets as a border

the colored fabrics are my own hand dyed muslin

and, using my new typewriter, I made a miniature banner 

it says:

brothers in arms

(I thought it was funny the way the brothers aren't holding hands, they're holding arms)

photo transfer - 3 ways

I made the picture below using the photo transfer technique I describe HERE:

in this next picture, I have added colored pencil to enrich the image:

and then, I added beeswax, my all time favorite finishing product:

because of the large size (about 6X8) I couldn't dip it in beeswax

so I poured the melted beeswax over it

then, because it was an uneven coating,

I set it on foil and put in a 180' oven until the wax melted evenly over the whole thing

I scraped off some of the extra wax with a bone folder

and then buffed it with a rag

it really added the depth I was looking for

*

p.s. this a picture that was taken probably around 1945

it is my dad (on the left) and his brothers

cute, huh?!

I love how it turned out

:)

what "a little talking to" will do

I had lunch with my Dad today.

I wanted to show him my photo transfers - knowing I would get his honest opinion.

I have to say that I've been like a stick in the mud getting my etsy shop back on track

even with this next "big idea" I had (of the photo transfers)

I get an idea and then a little voice says,

sheesh

big deal

that's not going anywhere

what a waste of time

and effort

there's way better stuff

than yours

etsy is big

you are little

no one will see it

no one will want it

no one will buy it

etc

etc

etc

do you know that voice too?

That's when you need to talk to someone like my Dad.

He's like a kick in the butt and a hug all at the same time.

Thanks Dad.

my etsy

twinchie transfers

Lisa Lee over at Inchie Arts asked me if this technique would work on twinchies

(that got me playing some more ;-)

The Inchie Arts Inchie and Twinchie Squares 

are made from a high quality matte board

... they worked quite nicely in fact!

Thank you Lisa!

Here you can see that I've adhered my Twinchie Squares (dark cream) 

directly onto the images

I used Mod Podge - which is a decoupage medium

If you cannot obtain this, I would suggest Golden Acrylic Medium or white glue

Here they are individually cut out and fully dried

I allow at least half a day drying time

Next I simply wet the paper and gently rub it away leaving the ink jet image

(my original post about this process is HERE)

... and here they are all finished ...

The nice thing about using the Inchie Arts products for this project

was the sturdiness of the material

You definitely want to use something that will stand up to the abuse

(glue, water, rubbing, etc.)

this one is my fav

(these are all pictures of my dear old Dad)

Latitudinal Attitudinal

Northern Latitudes

"People in the North call such a boat a kay

ak ...." these words from an old storybook fit perfectly with my Alaskan Pale Ale beer label and "made in alaska" bottle cap ....

This hanging art piece is entirely re-used materials: a canned pineapple lid, beer bottle label, beer bottle cap, electrician wire, an old storybook, cereal box cardboard and beads - but I guess the beads don't qualify (as recycling) - along with the fishing line and glue. Today's theme over at Theme Thursday is something (anything) nautical or beachy. And yes, there are beaches in Alaska - even surfing!

Southern Latitudes

... and here we have the southern latitudes represented by my Dad. He e-mailed this picture to me last week and I love the colors and composition. Oh, to be in short sleeves on a sunny day!

Silver Halide

silver halide

(a haiku)

heart of gold captured

on silver halide paper

the search is over

*silver halide - wikipedia

(see this week's creativity prompt "silver" on Inspire Me Thursday)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine From My Dad

As my oldest daughter said, "It's so simple and so not simple at the same time."

My Dad is a true artist - isn't it beautiful?!!

T on 2 - T 2 go

I'm taking my T 2 go this 2 .... I'm headed off to the early bird Tuesday special at the movies with my Dad. Tuesday at 10:30 it's only 5 bucks We're going to see Slumdog Millionaire - which he has already seen. He's certain I'll Love it. I'm not so certain, so I'm packing my knitting along just in case I have to sit out the sad parts in the lobby. I'm a notorious eyecloser and walker out of the roomer when a movie gets too sad. Oh, I forgot the tissues ... I'll throw those in my bag as well.

*** just a little postscript here: the movie theater had a scheduling change, and we'll be seeing Slumdog Millionaire on Friday. I'll let you know how it was. I ended up having my tea in Barnes and Noble with Dad and his magazines, Nana and a fun little personality test she found and myself with my knitting bag and a new book I picked up. I'll add it to my Library Shelf in the sidebar***

And here's the current state of affairs with my take on the "Disintegration Project" (see The Altered Page for more info) after one week of midwinter. The biggest change has been the curling up of the pages and some rust appearing around the nails. The Santa Maria Novella fragrance is as strong as ever. It maybe be the cool damp air. 

Simple Gifts

I enjoyed a special date with my dear old Dad today. After a simple lunch of clam chowder and his darling wife's special homemade Sauerbraten, we went to his local art supply store. Any time I go anywhere with my Dad, they all know him by name. It's really fun to watch him bring sunshine with him as he just walks through the door of a place. He's funny too. The sales lady knows him as Rich - her name is June - but he calls her Junebug - and then he said, "Junebug, today my name is Jose. Jose Jose." What a nut. 

Anyway, he said to me, "What do you want? You can have anything at all." Of course I "needed" beeswax and "wanted" paper - and he got me both. Simple gifts and a lovely lovely time.