The End of 2011's 365 Project and 2012's Beginning

I was somewhat relieved to finish my 2011 Snow Globe 365 Project, but I found myself missing the daily discipline.  

Happy New Year!

The Bay

Skull Appreciation: Captain Basura SOLD!

Skull Appreciation Day is June 4th, 2011 at Gallery 5.  Over 100 artists were invited to participate by decorating the same brown papier-mâché skull base.  Here is what mine looked like before decorating.  I knew I wanted to use all recycled materials, but it was my three year old daughter that noticed the decoupaged floral newspaper band on his forehead looked like a pirate bandana. 

From there, a pirate was born.

Captain Basura

 He was first covered in newspaper print for his face, barcode eyebrows from coupons, and floral magazine pages to cover his head.  For added layer, I used some tissue paper to make the hankerchief and also to fashion the flower which has onion mesh bag as the stamen.

I then used an burned-out light bulb that I smashed with a hammer in an old plastic bag to create the teeth which were painted white and gold.  I used buttons and feathers from a discarded art project to form lips and a mustache.

I used a Gatorade cap which I decoupaged postal stamps onto, using some beads from a broken bracelet to create the eye patch. No pirate is complete with out an earring so I poked out the center of a Blue Moon bottle cap (fav beer).  The hair is made from old onion and orange mesh bags with a little raffia for added texture.

The other eyeball is made using the stem of the broken light bulb which is secured by an old watercolor sponge I used to use.

100% of the proceeds to this skull will go to the  Richmond Peace Education Center.  

Creativity Challenge: Old Hollywood

Today I had the pleasure of getting my hair done by Kelly St.Claire  as Heather Addley and I prepared for the February RPM challenge: Old Hollywood. Here are some of the photos, I hope you enjoy!

Creativity Challenge: Emotion

This past Saturday, I met up with The Richmond Photography Meet up Group at Dogwood Dell for a creativity challenge.  We all drew an assignment from a paper bag, I got "emotion."  It was really cold but these are the highlights from the shoot.

Fellow photographers were kind enough to shoot a photo with my Snow Globe 365 project.

Making a Terrarium

CBS Sunday Morning's clip on terrariums, reminded me of how much I have wanted to make my own indoor garden.  I found it's a great project for kids too.  First we added the rocks for drainage.

 Then we added the dirt, planted the plants, and had fun adding a gnome and creating a decorative stone walkway.

Since this blog is about re-purposing materials, we also made one in a Mason Jar.  We used some backyard moss and put in a dinosaur.  This project was really fun for all of us.

Experiments with a Circular Polarizer

A circular polarizer is used with outdoor photography to deepen the intensity of blue skies, reducing glare and cutting reflections.  As you can see from the first photo taken from the side view mirror, there is a reflection from what's outside.  The second is a photo using the polarizer where it has reduced the reflection. This is also supposed to work with water, too.  Here is an example.

The sky is definitely richer with the polarizer.  I am looking forward to using it with some sunsets soon.

Open Book

Need some new decorations in your home, but money is tight and you'd really like to work with what you have? Are you really going to read that Alfred Hitchcock book again, if ever? It's doubtful.  Fold it up, make it new!

 Experiment with various folding techniques. Kick it old school with some of our mad middle school notebook folding skills.  Or try this or better yet, this (puts my folding project to shame!) Enjoy, simplify and make the most of what we have! Treasures await, even under layers of dust.

Tiny Diner: HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This photo was taken at LGBG, during their New Year's Eve Frolic. There are a bunch of dollhouses in the LG library and this diner one is my favorite!

Happy New Year! May 2011 knock your socks off with awe and abundance!