Just One Word

I stink at New Year's Resolutions.  I don't make them anymore.  In fact, it would be more accurate to say that I make daily resolutions...to be more patient, to be kinder, to clean my closet, to quit Diet Coke.  Some days are better than others.  And, truthfully, some days are epic failures.  This is the beauty of the "New Day Resolution".  You get to start over tomorrow. 

As 2012 dawned and all the New Year Resolution talk started, I heard of a movement where one chooses one word as a guiding word for the year.  The theory is that focusing on this one word will help to create it.  And it's only one word.  It's not a giant list all bullet pointed and alphabetized and pulled tight like a mousetrap waiting for that one misstep.  It's only one word.  How hard could that be?  As I pondered this, I found it very easy to select my word....that thing that I want more of in my life--the thing that I intend to focus energy and prayer and actions to create.

prettystuff.tumblr.com

Psalms 34:14 reads, "Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it."  More truth, I'm not off to a rousing start.  It's day 8 of the new year and there have already been innumerable times that I could have done something differently, said something differently, or opted not to say anything that would have steered this lifeboat I'm rowing toward more peaceful waters.  It's a process.  I'm working on it.  And, one way or the other, I mean to have it.

Copyright LeissnerArt 2012

Clearly this has been on my mind for a while.  I was contemplating doing an art piece for my word when I realized that I have already done THREE paintings whose subject was "Peace" in the last year.  I guess I have been trying to clue myself in.

Copyright LeissnerArt 2011

The word "peace" occurs 429 times in the King James Version of the Holy Bible. Interestingly, "love" occurs 311 times.  Since, "the greatest of these is love", I'm drawing an uneducated assumption that "peace" is right up there.  Although Solomon was talking about wisdom and understanding, Proverbs 3:17 could (should?) also apply to me.  "Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace."





LeissnerArt 2011

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "It isn't enough to talk about peace. One must believe in it. It isn't enough to believe in it. One must work at it. "

That's what I intend to do.

  Beautiful artwork by Melody Ross at Brave Girls Club

And so, my prayer for you is the same as my prayer for myself.  I pray that the peace of God that passes all understanding will keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus in 2012.

<3 Lori

This post is part of a blog hop that I'm participating in with my Fly Tribe friends from Flying Lessons.  Please head over to our new joint blog to check out other One Word posts by some lovely gals by clicking HERE.

LeissnerArt Cards The Final Chapter--Glue Me In --AEDM 29

Let's get something straight right off the bat.  I don't cook much.  I tried to cook for a while, but my family was not particularly complimentary.  I figure, why work so hard at something I don't like that much for people who don't like it that much, either.  So most of what I make in the kitchen comes from a box or a bag.  Sometimes, if I go for a while without really cooking at all, the family is much more complimentary. Hungry people are happier with my cooking.   It's working for me. :)

With this in mind, any crafty efforts I make in the kitchen must appear at first glance to be super, super simple.  And so it is with ENVELOPE GLUE! 
Today we get to create lickable glue for our envelopes.  When we left off, we were here:

We have cute LeissnerArt Cards and handmade envelopes, but they don't close. To close them, we need glue.  I went straight to Google, but honestly I did not think I would find anything.  Lo and behold! There it was. "Envelope Glue Recipes" were right there at friendship-by-mail.com.  Weeeeee!

The first one included Elmer's Glue. Ummmm.....Mrs. Dixon, my first grade teacher, said one should not eat glue.  I'm not sure who decided, while not really edible, it was really lickable.  So, I moved on to recipe #2.

6 tablespoons white vinegar

(4) 0.1 oz. packets unflavored gelatin

1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or any flavor that you like)

Amazingly, especially for someone who doesn't cook much, I had all this stuff already in my pantry.  I have no idea how long that gelatine had been in there.  It might work better if it were fresher, so buy new.  There are four little gelatine envelopes in the box.  You'll use the whole small box. 

The family and I also had a lively discussion regarding what flavor to use.  I thought I had peppermint extract, but couldn't find it. We excluded onion juice pretty quickly.  The top contenders were Orange Extract or Vanilla Extract.  We decided orange then I accidently poured in vanilla, so there you go.

Directions:

Bring vinegar to a boil in a small pan.

Add gelatin and stir until dissolved.

Add extract and stir until mixed.

 

When you get it all done, there might be a few lumps.  It's not all that pretty, but this is what it looked like for me:

 



 
Brush on thin layer onto back of an envelope flap...Let dry.

 

This was my first attempt, so I learned a few things. 

1.  Don't just dump all the envelopes in there all at once.  I guess I forgot I was making glue, because I was surprised it was so sticky. Ha!  I would suggest shaking one packet into the vinegar at a time while vigorously mixing with a fork or whisk.

2.  The vanilla makes for a more tasty glue, but in retrospect, the color is not that appealing.  Orange might have been better. Peppermint would probably be ideal.  I'm going to use that next time, I think.

3.  Have your brush at the ready.  Try to be very neat in painting the glue.  Since it's not clear, it's more apparent that it's also not as neat as I would like it to be.

4.  If your envelope flaps curl a little after the glue, you can iron them flatter.  Just make sure the steam is not on your iron.

5.  The remaining glue you have can be reused.  Store excess glue in a sealed container and melt again for future use by putting in a pan of warm water.

Now my little cards are ready to fly off to their new homes.  I'll be listing them this week.  I think they are a sweet, fun way to economically share original artwork.

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog.  If you make some envelopes, I'd love to hear about how it goes for you.  And I would love to see them.  Share them on my Facebook page!

Praying that the Lord blesses us all today with clean air and deep breaths, warm beds and sweet dreams.

<3 Lori

How to Make Your Own Scrapbook Paper Envelopes--AEDM 28

Yesterday, we were talking about these:

And these:

And the need to make some of these:

I tried a couple of prototypes for envelopes before I decided to use an envelope from a card I received from a friend as a template. 

Carefully open the envelope at the seams to reveal the template. (Please ignore the disaster area in the background.  It's a wreck back there.  I don't think "art" and "neat" can be accomplished simultaneously.)

Since this is a step-by-step of how *I* made envelopes, you must now scrounge around, excavate, and spelunk in the piles for a piece of cardboard or card stock large enough for trace around your sample envelope.  I found this:

Since my sample envelope was a tiny bit smaller than I wanted, I traced a little larger to create a bigger envelope.  (I realize this is a horrible photo. Sorry it's blurry.  And why are my hands swollen?  Too much smoked turkey, me thinks.)

Now cut out your template, and you'll have a nice, sturdy tool to use to make another 50 envelopes for all those Art Cards, which I have now christened "LeissnerArt Cards" (trademark and patent pending).  Select the paper you want to use for your envelope. I chose thicker cardstock because I want to protect the artwork.  Trace around the template. Then carefully cut the envelope.  Your cut out envelopes will look like this:

Now fold and glue your envelope ( I should get a manicure.  Have you ever seen Martha Stewart's nails, though?  Maybe I'm good.  I'm not left handed, either.  But how else can I take a photo of myself gluing my envelope when I need my right hand to take the photo?  This blogging business is crazy.) :

All done!

Not quite. 

Come back tomorrow to learn how to make envelope glue!  Yes, lickable glue!  I found the recipe on the internet.  (I love the internet.)

May the Lord bless you with pretty paper and perfect folds.

<3 Lori

Fun With Canvas Panels--Art Every Day, Day 27

I was in Michael's at some point this summer before school started. They had a display of student art supplies where I found the coolest stack of 10, 5 x 7 canvas panels for about $5.  How do you pass up a deal like that even if you don't have the foggiest notion what you'll do with them?!

And then I got a notion.  And then I got shortness of breath contemplating the fun-ness.  And then I found Dick Blick's Art Supplies.  And then this happened:

There are forty-eight 5 x 7 canvas panels there.  "What," you ask, "are you planning to do with ALL of those??"

"Excellent question," I reply.  "I'm going to make THESE!!!"

They are little original artwork cards on canvas panels.  I'm calling them Art Cards.  They are art and gifts and cards all in one.  They are sweet and fun and mailable!!  The backs are blank so a personal message can be included.  I think I'm in love. :)

And then there was a quandry.  If I want people to be able to mail them, they'll need an envelope.  I could probably buy envelopes that will fit a 5 x 7 canvas panel.  And I might end up doing that.  But I've made envelopes before and thought it might be fun to create matching envelopes for my Art Cards.  I have stacks of scrapbook papers and card stock two feet high.  Scrapbook card stock is the perfect size and weight to make nice, durable envelopes.

Come back tomorrow for a tutorial on how to make your own envelopes!  I'm heading over to Etsy to list at least one of these cards. :)

Praying the Lord blesses you today with sweet dreams and an abundance of fun-ness.

<3 Lori 

Art Every Day--The Medley

I guess I'm fixin' to give away my age....do they even do medleys anymore?  I remember shows like HeeHaw, that show with the Mandrell sisters, and Donnie and Marie (dang, I'm old) had people on who occasionally sang medleys of their music.  We were out of town for the weekend, and the weeks are getting crazy with family obligations, so I've missed out on my blogging for Art Every Day and about some subjects I really wanted to cover.  So.....here's my little blog medley for your reading pleasure.

It was Veteran's Day a few days ago.   My grandfather Alton Curtis Little served at Guadalcanal.

The journal my grandmother, Fannie, gave him before he left holds at least a partial history of the events he experienced there.  On September 18, 1943, he wrote, "A wild night, there were 4 air raids. Bombs dropped about 100 yards from me. Only knocked two or three holes in tent.  They really landed hard and shook us up in our fox hole.  Bombs dropped all way between here and beach, started a small fire.  I really thought our time had come". 

For Veteran's Day, I salute Tony Little.  Thank you, Papaw and all those who served with you who got to come home and those who did not, for all you did to ensure our freedom is secure.

Our trip this weekend was to visit my father-in-law on what would have been my mother-in-law's 80th birthday.  I packed my little art supply box fully intending to do some Artist Trading Cards for the next swap in our little group.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to that.  But my sister-in-law, Leah, who owns the really cool store fixture warehouse in Austin called First Rate Fixtures brought a truck load of awesomeness for me to choose from in exchange for drawing some clothes on mannequin forms for decoration at her store.  How fun is that!  This is the amazing haul I made!! 

Thanks, Leah! I don't know what I'm going to do with them yet, but whatever it is is going to be so fun!


I keep talking about these Artist Trading Cards and have even posted photos of the ones that I've done.  Well, yesterday I received the trades.  They are awesome!  Here are the little cuties I received:

Kathy May of Kathy May Designs

Ursula Smith.  Visit her blog at  http://www.easyscraps.com/

Cheryl Fitzsimmons Dossey

Thanks, ladies!  I love them!  We have now filled a year's calendar with card swap hostesses and themes.  You'll be seeing these little masterpieces regularly. 

Basketball season has started.  I was trying to fill in my Franklin Covey planner with the game schedule, but I got writer's cramp and had to stop before I got out of December.  We'll be at basketball games at least three times a week.  I love basketball!  That's still a LOT of basketball.  I'll try to check back soon.

The sun is starting to put my favorite light on the porch outside my window.  I need to get to my real job now.  May the Lord bless you today with golden light, activities you love, sweet memories, and new friends.

<3 Lori

Art Every Day Hospital Waiting Room Edition

Good morning!! I'm using my fancy new phone to post from the hospital waiting room. We'll see how this works.

Basketball season has started. I have two players in the house. There was a game last night, and there's another one tomorrow. Art every day is going to get more challenging.



Here's what I'm working on at the moment. I might get to finish it tonight.

May the Lord bless you today with good health for yourself and those you love and the awareness to appreciate it.

<3 Lori.

Art Every Day 7--Scorched Earth and Bluesky Birdies

Good morning!  I actually don't know which day of Art Every Day we are supposed to be on. What I do know is that I went upstairs yesterday and did at least a month's worth (at my current rate).  It's the weirdest thing to be suddenly swept up with inspiration after nothing for so long.  It's kind of like those African rainy seasons where the ground is cracked and the fish a struggling to breath without water when the floods finally come.

I actually did three pieces and prepped a background to try to execute a little sketch idea I had.  All three completed projects had been mistakes that were lying around taunting me with their ugliness.  I didn't get a good shot of all of them, but this is my favorite:



I had the little serious looking gray tabby painted out and was holding up the canvas looking at him and saying to him, "What do you want on your head?"  Just over the edge of the canvas, I saw my little bird tracing guide that I've used in the past stuck to my white board.  "Ahh! A birdie!" Because once I'm sitting at my desk, I'm not too keen to get up, I looked around at my feet for some scrapbook paper or something to make the bird from.  A printed photo from our vacation to Montana a couple of years ago was close at hand.  Bluesky Birdie looks good, I think! :)

I'll show you the other things sometime soon, I'm sure.  My ground might become parched again before the month is over.

I must now get ready for my real job.  May the Lord bless you today with blue skies and birdies to share them with.

<3 Lori