Live Life

I picked this picture out of a magazine because she reminds me of myself when I was little, then used it in the altered book for this spread. The pages on the right are folded and glued. I put a blank paper under it to do the scan so the next spread wouldn't distract. Words on the triangle page came from a bulletin at church while the words on the left page were found in a magazine. The paint used is from my stash of nail polish colors. At the time I did this page I didn't have a lot of paint bought up yet, so I just used what I had. Having raised 2 daughters through the eighties and nineties we have some really wild and sometimes wicked colors of nail polish. I have to admit some of them were mine. I went through a spell where I tried to have artificial nails, but it was just too much trouble and with me having to wear gloves at work and wash my hands all the time, they just wouldn't last. Now it is against the rules for us to have them because it's been determined that it increases the possibility of spreading infection. Can't believe I went to all that trouble anyway because if you knew me, it's just not "me". Anyway another reminder to myself to enjoy life and live in the moment, because I can tend to dwell on the future at the expense of the present. I can be a worrier, but it's mostly the kind of thinking like once I do this and I can that, if that makes any sense.

I have worked on another Halloween project or 2 for myself but not completely done with either. Neither have I decorated yet. Yesterday I worked on these things some, did a little housework(not much, lol), and worked on glueing pictures in my inspiriation journal, which I've never shown here. I'll get it and scan to show you. This was a mostly unused ledger book from work that I was able to rescue from going in the trash. The front is covered with some "scraps" paper,literally made from the scraps on my work table at the time. I glued a sticky backed metal strip beside it along with some buttons, a key with fibers, tag with the word "inspire", and a butterfly sticker. Painted with a copper metallic paint over the metal strip and here and there on the book to age it. This is where I put pictures from magazines of decorating and craft ideas and other artistic inspiration. Having a place to put them enables me to then throw the magazine away, something I have problems with. Also in here I write down ideas that come to me or things I see on TV. I recently went through and got rid of a bunch of magazines, so I have a lot of pics to glue now.


Speaking of magazines, I just recently saw on someone's blog that Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion is going to cease publication! That is my favorite decorating magazine and one that, thankfully, I've never cut up and thrown away. Most of the decorating is just my kind of thing and then there are lots of artistic homes and studios shown along with the art. I can pull out an old issue and browse the pages and find something I don't remember seeing in there before. I'm really going to miss this magazine.

I'm going to be going down to Tuscaloosa for an art festival there called Kentuck, I believe. I had forgotten about Emily telling me about it and she didn't call to ask me about it again until yesterday. The week I work, especially if I'm busy outside of work, I forget a lot. I'm going to go down and spend the night tonight and then we'll go to the festival tomorrow. I'll let you know what we see. Will have to remember my camera, but sometimes they don't want you to take pics.