Was there any suprise? Thanks Kristine for the fun quiz. She is my favorite heroine. Who are you?

Take the Quiz here!

So, stupidity first:

I think the picture pretty much sums it up. Why varnish something when you can spray paint over it? I guess I get to try again with this little project! Oh brother!

Now for the cuteness. We were finishing up dinner tonight and Megan and Emily were enjoying a little sword play with their straws. At one point, Megan said “You’re dead!” Emily replied “No, I am Mommy!” (Then turned to Mike and said) “You’re Dad!”

And finally: There is a ton of good stuff to blog about. We have been busy! But I don’t have time tonight, so I will leave you with some pics of our fun day at the zoo with Jenn and Lauren.

What? Collage is about scissors and glue, right? Yes it is, but any collage would be enhanced with a little treatment to the paper before the typical steps. This will need to be a 2-day (or morning and afternoon) project. I know you have time, since it is summer.

Materials:

paper (I used white, but colored paper would look nice with acrylics)

paint (watercolor or acrylic will work great. I would avoid tempera, as it tends to flake.)

paintbrushes

scissors

glue

Not necessary, but  recommended:

poster board

Foam tape (to create different heights)

Directions:

1. Paint on the paper, it’s pretty simple. Any design will work, since you are going to be cutting it up, it’s not necessary to get too detailed. I did swirls in a a few different shades  of each main color, then topped it with some Jackson Pollack paint dripping. Paint the background onto another piece of paper or the poster board.

2. After the paintings have dried, flip them over and sketch out the basic shapes for your picture. Then cut them out. To get the crinkled look I used, wet the paper down and gently wad it up; then smooth it out again as much as desired. Let it dry and it will hold that form.

3. Now glue the shapes onto the background. If you are using foam tape, layer different amounts of tape to make the objects in the scene stand out. (For example, I used on piece of tape on one tree. On the tree next to it, I layered 3 pieces of tape, then 2 on another, and 4 on a different tree; so that each tree was a different height above the paper.)

4. Pretty simple. Now try experimenting. You and your little artist can come up with some really amazing work.

We really have been nuts this summer. (I mean scheduling-wise, we are always a little mentally nuts.) I thought I would share a quick (well, sort of) run-down of the highlights for the last month or so.

Oregon (aka blissful homecoming)

We drove 2167.5 miles (which equates to 40 hours, 20 min. of in-car time) on our 4 day trip. It felt so good to be there-a little hot and sticky as we hit a record heat wave-but still good. We played on the beach and Megan couldn’t get enough of the water. She just giggled-almost hysterically-as she sat on the sand and let the waves lap over her.

We took 101 up from where we stayed in Depot Bay to Tillamook (mmm…ice cream…) and over to Portland to meet Amy. (yay!) I am kicking myself that I didn’t get a picture of her. We spent the night hanging out and talking, which was just as fun as when were in high school. I know I am treading towards annoying gushiness here, but she is such a fun friend. It is amazing how we can not talk for months and then get together and feel just like being back in high school. (Only better, because we don’t have to be in high school.) She great to confide in and has deep insights on so many things. I am going to stop now and just say that I had a great time with you Amy.

On Saturday we headed down to Salem to watch Brent play the Salem Surge (or something). As you can see it was fun. We were all a little wilted from the heat, but some icees perked us up, as well giving us nicely colored tongues. Other highlights: driving too fast down Croissian Creek Rd., past my old house, Sprague and Hylo Rd. I can’t help but sigh just thinking about it. We also wandered around Silver Falls. (Which I always thought was Silver Creek Falls, huh.) Either way, the place is gorgeous! Several beautiful falls that are easy to hike to and closely situated. I highly recommend it!

Idaho

We went to the Idaho Falls area to support my cute nephews for their mission homecoming (Jordan) and farewell (Jake). We also got to visit the super-cool Schwendimans and their AWESOME potato farm. I loved climbing up on the potato mountain in the potato cellar. (Yes, it was a lot of potatoes.) The Schwendimans are so much fun, that we are going to head back in a couple of weeks. It was an action packed 33 hours, I tell you what!

misc. joys

The 4th of July was just as much fun as always, here are the kids in their shirts. We loved your bee outfits, Wrights/Hinckleys! Also beloved, are summer dinners in the Jensen’s backyard.  And the nieces and

nephews’ many sporting victories. Among them Weston’s baseball team taking the State tittle. Way to go Wes!

Here is Mike’s new baby. It was the summer of Mike (what with his motor and mountain bike purchases.) His old baby, the Jeep is going to live on the Shwendiman’s farm; where it will have lots of room to run around. (Bye bye, last little shred of coolness. Don’t worry about me, I’ve got my minivan to get around in.)

Next month should be even more fun with Brent and Katie’s wedding and a couple of camping trips on the calendar. Also exciting, I finally finished my proposal for my art idea book! Thank you, Thank you, please no applause. Yes, I feel like it was an accomplishment. You can see it at www.ArtAllYear.com. Please note the site I designed and Eddie laboriously coded for me. I will be posting about the joys of collage soon (featuring the very seasonal trees you see on the site.) If you’re still with me, congrats on your blog endurance capabilities. I’ll try to be more frequent and brief in August. ;-D

Emily accessorizing again!

This post is dedicated to my cute friend who has resorted to tattooing her 2 year-old legs for entertainment while they wait for all of their stuff to be delivered to their new home. Here are a few activities that they can do with a trip to the grocery store. By this point in the summer, we all can use a few quick and easy activities.

Peanut Butter Playdough

So, things have been a little nutty lately; and I am running a little behind on posting. (stating the obvious, right?) I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share a few words about my little bit of sunshine, though. I just cannot believe that Emily is 2 already. It seems that the more I try to keep her my baby, the faster she turns into this adorable little curly top girl. Here are a few of my favorite things about Emily:

• She has an amazing 1000 watt smile. Seriously, her whole body smiles, she squinches up her eyes and just radiates happiness.
• When she gets excited she jabbers on with such an earnest look on her face, it just makes me want to squeeze her cheeks.
• Uh, yea. Those cheeks-so cute! So are her little chubby arms and legs.
• “wook-a-dat!”, “I wike it!”, “I do!”, “A wock-a-chair!”  (Pretty much everything she says really does have an exclamation point after it. She is just so stinkin’ happy.
• She has this really funny scowl that gives people (especially new acquaintances.) It is intense and it is difficult to break. Mike and I usually can’t help but laugh up as she nails someone with it.
• She is just so stinkin’ happy!
• When she gets mad she banters off these staccato ejaculations. She reminds me of a mad little hen. It cracks me up.
• The curls. Come on, how can you not love them.
• The way she takes in everything around her.
• When she dances around, her shoulders move in a very cute and exuberant way.
• She often holds tight with one hand around my neck and it melts me.
• She loves being with Megan, you can frequently hear her calling out “Meg! Meg-an” in her cute little voice.
• She loves babies and is so cute and maternal.
• She is so excited about life–and it is contagious!
• I can still think she is cute when she wakes me up at 4am.
• She wakes up totally happy–just excited to be here.

This is probably enough mushy-ness for public consumption, but I think you get the idea. I am so thrilled that I get to be her mommy. I know, you are probably full of cheese by now; but let me jut say she is a perfect little bit of sunshine and that is so beautiful! Happy Birthday, Ems.

Last Saturday was the Venture Outdoors Festival. We had a blast! We loved watching the bike trials (those guys are amazing!) and listening to Brian and Chip. The girls couldn’t get enough of the blow-up slide and crazy catapillar. My art clinic went well. I loved seeing Kara’s friendly face and the cute Dalls! Here is an overview of what I taught. Hopefully, you’ll find some of the tips useful. We talked mostly about painting and the different types of media available.

a few general tips:
1. LOOK-Possibly the most important thing you can do to improve your work is to really observe your subject. It’s also a good idea to start seeing what you look at in general.
2. Perspective-Objects in your scene get smaller and closer together as they are further into the background. You should also pick a vanishing point and make sure that all objects line up with that point. Any object will also take on more of it’s complimentary color as it gets further away.
3. Atmospheric perspective-In landscapes, the scenery will get bluer and blurrier as it recedes into the background.
4. Portraits-Here is a quick guide for proportion: eyes should be centered about halfway between the top of the head the chin. The bottom of the nose should hit about halfway between eyes and chin; the mouth between the nose and chin. (Although this will vary slightly from face to face.) Don’t forget to leave room for the brain!

5. Color-Ideally, all colors can be mixed with red, yellow, and blue (the primary colors), except black (shade) and white (tint).

• Complimentary colors are the those that are opposite on the color wheel. They create a striking combination. (blue/orange, red/green, yellow/purple)

• Monochromatic-using various tints and shades of one color.

• Analogous-Using hues that are adjacent on the color wheel. (ie. orange, red-orange, and red.)

• Value-Most objects can be realistically colored with the hue, a tint and shade to give dimension. (Shiny objects will also need a highlight.)

6. Art is not about rules! The rules are there to help you be a better artist, not to intimidate you. Get in there and experiment! Read books, look online, art is meant to be fun, not stuffy!

Oil:
Basic Materials: (with minimum costs)
Brush sets start at $15
Paints start at $4 per tube
Starter set for $35
Silicoil jar $5
Turpentine $10
Masterson Palette Seal $15
Masters Brush cleaner $3
Canvas board starts at $3
Canvases average around $25
A few helpful techniques:
1.Use turpentine (poured into the silicoil jar) to wet brushes and thin paint.
2.Lay down several layers of (usually) thin paint to create your composition. Start by blocking in the basic shapes and shadows, then work from background to foreground, and dark to light.
3.Most often, you will do several layers, to add details and give depth to your work. Wait a few days to let a layer dry then, add to it.
4.You can work on a layer for up to 12 hours. After that time, the paint is too dry to move around well, but too still to wet to paint over-it will smudge, give it at least 24 hours between layers, a few days is best.
5.It takes about 6 months for a painting to cure (or fully dry.) Usually, you will want to seal or varnish it after this.
6.Use white to lighten a color and the compliment of the color to darken it.
7.Step back often to see your progress. Keep in mind that things always look differently up close than away.

Acrylic:
Basic Materials:
Brush set $8
Paint $3 per tube
sets start at $15
Palette $1 for open paint well
(I would use a Masterson Seal Palette if you might not finish in that session.)
Canvas board starts at $3
Canvases average around $25

A few helpful techniques:
1.Acrylics do well of many different surfaces, from paper to wood, glass, metal, canvas, etc.
2.Use mediums to drastically change the texture and consistency of acrylic. By thinning the paint down with water, you can get a watercolor effect. The paint can also be thickened and the texture look like anything from paste, iridescence, or a sandpaper feel.
3.Acrylics are very easy to work with (water soluble) and clean up with just soap and water.
4.To keep paint moist, use a spray bottle. You can also wet your paper to “float” colors have more work time. This works well for blending colors and shades.  Unlike, watercolors when the paint dries, it is permanent.
5.You will want to sketch out your subject first; as acrylics dry quickly.
6.Paint grade really matters with acrylics (actually it just really matters.) It is fine to practice with cheap paints, but beware of doing anything you want to last with them, as they are prone to fading.

Watercolor:
Basic Materials:
Paint $4 per tube
(also comes in cakes and liquid)
beginner sets start at $35
Brush set $8
Palettes $2
Paper (16×20) $8
Pad $15

A few helpful techniques:
1.Wash: Wet the area you want to wash. Pick up pigment with your brush and glide it along the area; then start a new row. Do not work back over the area. As it dries, it will even out. You can create a a graded wash by varying the amount of paint used in each stroke.
2.A glaze is a thin layer of paint done on dry paper (or a dry layer of paint.) Layers of glazes are often built up in watercolors.
3.Paint onto wet paper to create soft, undefined shapes.
4.You can also load the brush with a color then set it down onto a wet section of the paper to allow the color to “bleed” onto the paper.
5.You can “lift” paint off once it is dry by wetting the area with water and blotting with a paper towel.
6.To create crisp lines, load a lot of color onto the brush and try to keep it as dry as possible. (Paint on dry paper.)
7.You can get unusual textures by stamping your wet paint with crumpled cling wrap, tissue paper, or paper towels.
8.Sprinkle with salt to get a splattery look. Sprinkle it onto wet paint, then let dry; gently brush off salt afterward. It will leave a white or lighter tinted speckle. You can also flick the end of the brush to get colored speckles.

Sketching:
Basic Materials:
Pencils-a good set starts at $5
Paper- sketch pads start at around $8

A few helpful techniques:
1.Sketching can be done anywhere at anytime. It doesn’t require many materials.
2.Loosen up and sketch individual lines quickly. You can always erase, but you can get the confident crisp lines by moving slowly on the page.
3.Don’t worry about drawing straight lines!
4.Focus on general shapes and values, don’t be concerned with sketching every little detail. The general idea will look more composed than a minutia of little details.
5.Use your finger or a blending stick to blur and blend lines, creating soft shading.
6.By using an eraser, you can lift off color, to create highlights.

Pastels:
Basic Materials:
Student grade start at $5 per box
$10 for a pad of pastel paper

A few helpful techniques:
1.Pastels are pressure sensitive, you can greatly vary the intensity and texture.
2.Use the end of the pastel to get a firm line, or the side to shade a large  area.
3.Lay down a thick layer of color, then softly use the side to Scumble an area for a very interesting texture.
4.Similarly, you can feather with another color, by lightly hatching over with another color.
5.Let the paper show through to give texture. Pastels pop when applied to darker colored paper.
6.Use hatches (and crosshatching) to give dimension; this can be left as is or blended with your finger for a nice effect.
7.You can create shading by scraping the side of a pastel crayon with a razor. When the dust is how you like it, press it into the paper with a palette knife.

As you can see, we covered a lot of ground in a pretty small amount of time, but we definitely had a good time!

*Sorry, for some reason, I still can’t upload pics. I am working on it–blasted wordpress update!

I know, no one’s life is affected by my lack of posting. I have missed feeling connected though. Actually, I have had a ton of stuff to post about too: we went to the zoo, the girls moved into big girl bed (gulp!), we went swimming for the first time this summer, we went to Summerlin to visit Pamela and Nathan, Megan had a darling end-of-year preschool program, we’ve had playdates and tea parties, we’re having fun! We’re getting photo ops. (I can’t seem to upload anything, but now that I have broken the posting barrier, we can move to the next to-do item.) Maybe I will post highlights for you. The lack of updates come from the fact that I am tantalizingly close to having the proposal for my book done. I will put up a link when the site is done. Thanks to the very talented Andrew Burt, it shouldn’t be too long and should look pretty good. (You are the flash guru, Eddie!)

Also on my agenda is the Venture Outdoors Festival; where I will be teaching an art clinic next Saturday. If you are in the Salt Lake area, feel free to drop in. My clinic will be at 7:30p; but there is a lot of other really great stuff going on. I am excited to go to Peter Breinholt’s children’s music clinic and soak up some of Joy Bossi’s knowledge. Okay. It is midnight. I am really tired. My conscience is officially clear. I have posted. What? It was only a-er-few weeks.

Isn’t that what they all say? Actually, I am pretty excited that I am a finalist for the best mommy-blog of 2008. I am enlisting all of your help to vote for me and check out a really great list of good blogs on all sorts of subjects. Don’t hesitate to tell your friends to vote too. (Man, I feel totally shameless!)

Well, here it is. I have a lot of junk. I decided to throw out the various wrappers from the park today before taking a picture. Also omitted is my lotion, which Megan confiscated. (It was really hard to keep her out of my display of purse booty. Here’s the breakdown for the rest of it:

1. Harveys Seatbelt Bag in medium size-Can I just say that I love LOVE this bag! My sis gave it to me and it is perfect! It holds a ton, but not enough to weigh you down. It is also wicked durable! (Which as you can imagine is perfect for me.)

2. Makeup bag-to hold my stuff and provide another barrier for the girls to get through before playing with said stuff.

3. Tissues-yeah, we go through these pretty quickly.

4. Hand-sanitizer spray

5. Sanitizing wipes-for when the spray isn’t enough.

6. Snacks for the girls-raisins, Craisins, fruit snacks

7. Snacks for me-York peppermint patty and Icebreakers Restore pomegranate lemon-aid mints

8. Yes, that is a giant Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker (and yes, I do use it.)

9. Checkbook and cool flat orange wallet

10. Toys, toys, toys

11. Mike’s church keys

12. Diaper-it is so typical that there are no wipes, I always seem to be out.

13. Treo-my beloved phone/attempt at being organized

It’s actually not too bad. There are often a few more items shoved in there! I am tagging anyone who wants to clean out their purse too. Pamela, I am pretty curious to see how organized yours is. (Probably perfect.) Julie, I would love to see what’s in yours, too bad you don’t blog. Actually, now that I think about it, I am pretty curious to see what is in a lot of your purses. If you’ve got time, why not dump it out for our entertainment?