A Quest For Focus

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** My Paradise


Called Home **

On Track...and Have Proof!

Friday, December 30, 2011


Just popping in to show my progress - yes, I really am making progress in the studio! I have nearly every flat surface cleared and somewhat organized. All that's left is a book case that holds my paper and my computer desk (which is almost done!)

I have a huge box that needs to go outside to be burned since it has a lot of personal information and there's just too much to shred. I am now free of stacks of paper and general junk. YAY for me.
PS I had to cut down some 22"x30" watercolor paper today and I did it without a table space issue. This feels so good - why I am not more diligent in keeping it this way I will never know. It just may be a mess again in a short while but I do have pictures to prove it really was nice at the beginning of the year!

This is probably the third song  in the past several months I've hunted down because I heard bits on a television commercial - this one has me miffed though...iTunes doesn't have it so I couldn't download it. Boo.

Somebody left the gate open...........at the Shores

Winding Down? NAHHH

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

2011 is on it's way out. I've bound my way through another crazy Christmas full of travel and custom orders and am finally home from Georgia for the second time in a month. So I can't for the life of me figure out why I am still in the weeds. I was pondering what has still yet to be done and the list is long, all of which are book orders that were not for Christmas so I was able to put them off until after the holidays. I also have a sewing project that I should have had done before I left but that too is unfinished (more on that in my next post when it finally IS done.)
I've decided that there will be no new years resolution but I DO want to start 2012 with clean work tables. I have one 8ft table, one 4ft table along with a drafting table and have a total of at best an 18"x24" clear space to work on - that's it. Rather pathetic really. No matter what, this will be done this week....at some point!

Some of my custom orders for Christmas. For the rocker   I cut a stencil of  The Who band logo  and spraypainted it over some Union Jack fabric - love the binding on it!

Then we have another stenciled cover. Yes, it's Davy Jones. I agreed to do this in spite of risking losing my rock n roller card ; )
 
The next is for an avid fisherman (also my pastor). This is the second year in a row his wife ordered one from me to give to him. She swiped one of his handmade fishing flys (sp?) and I put it under acetate window on the cover
The Dylan, Lennon and Waits stenciled books all sold so I think I'll replace them in my shops soon. I'll only make 3 per stencil before I retire each one, the background lyrics and bindings will all be different so technically they are/will be OOAK.

This one is for Tom, who 9 years ago on New Years Eve in Las Vegas became my husband.

Today and every day..................at the Shores

Stencil Fun

Saturday, December 10, 2011

So, a while back a friend and I took an online 'stencilry' class and I have been revisiting what I learned for my new Artists and Musicians series of books. The first two I wrote about in my previous post. Tom Waits has since sold and now resides in Dallas. On Dec. 8th I listed my John Lennon, the reason I know it was the 8th? Because it was the anniversary of his assassination at age 40. I always wonder how his life would have played out, he would have been 71 this year I believe. The second is Dali, I happened across a photo (circa 1954) and knew it would be a fun stencil to cut not to mention it would look like he's peeking around the bookcover - and it was such a typical look for him.

I did get the 15 mini journals (4.5"x5.5") finished and shipped off to Pennsylvania. It was a lovely box of color.
I bound them all the same. I had to if I wanted them done any time soon!

The weather is still odd for this time of the year. Normally by now we have a couple foot of snow on the ground but up until the day before yesterday it was just rain. The past 2 days we've had snow but not enough to stick around....sort of creepy, either we are going to have less than normal snow or we are about to get pounded.

A little Lennon for ya........

She got to be herself..............at the Shores

Happy December!

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Where have I been you ask? Well, anyone who has ever read this blog knows I often go MIA. I just got back from Georgia, my family lives there and normally drive the 12 hours for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. The weather was fantastic I must say, the first 2 days it was in the 80's then went down to the 70's - I miss the southern climate, I am so not a northern sort of gal...the hotter the better is my motto.

November was a fantastic month for business with 28 books sold. One of my customers (and dear friend) suggested that I add some books more guy friendly. I had to think hard just how I was going to do that and not lose "me" in the process. Fabric that is more masculine is somewhat boring I think so being the art and music fanatic that I am I decided to cut some stencils of some of my favorite artists and musicians and spraypaint them on the covers - I added song lyrics to the fabric background. I've finished two, Bob Dylan and Tom Waits, I have a John Lennon waiting to be bound but has to be put on hold for some custom orders that have come in.



I am working on an order of 15 mini journals - I must say, they are just about as much work as the full size ones, they're really cute though. Quite a generous Santa I must say! I've got the covers done so far, my only stipulation was that I wasn't going to make 15 identical books, she was more than happy to let me have my way:

Another fun book I have done since my last post is for the cat lover, personally I am a dog lover but all the cool fabric seems to be geared toward the feline fan! It's a larger art journal:
"Meowsterpieces" can be found here
This is the tune I used as the background on the Tom Waits book

 And the early dawn cracks out a carpet of diamond.......at the Shores
 

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