WHAT A DAY: December 8, 2013

Yeah for the weekend, and holiday fun!!  Catherine Anderson invited us to her studio for an Open House. Add that to the fact Judy Sy was going to attend, Melissa and I were sold.  So we ventured out in the brisk, rainy afternoon.

Catherine is such a sweet soul & so glad she has played a part in my life's journey.  Her studio is a great retreat for all walks of life & her family is a great host.  Her mother (recognized by her wonderful accent which I would like to acquire) greeted us so kindly when entering and made us feel at home.

We quickly took her up on that offer and gathered some fabulous tea & goodies.  Melissa and I attempted to have some tea drinking etiquette, but not sure how successful we were in that.

This tea is sooo yummy ...and yes, it tastes like Chocolate.

Catherine even had some simple, yet fabulous craft project available for us to do.  So love the concept.  She displayed her paper trees on a platter with glitter underneath. So simple, and such a statement.

And the food just kept appearing thanks to Catherine.  Olive bread was a huge hit.  It was so warm and yummy.

And finally Judy Sy made her appearance...Geesh, about time (only 2 hours after her guesstimated arrival time) but she did have a fabulous gift for us.  A super small screwdriver set called "Teeny Turner"

THANKS JUDY!!

After catching up a bit, Catherine, who is from South Africa,  had a special song for us to remember Nelson Mandela & to remember life is a celebration.

Around 4:30, we gathered our goodies, said our well wishes and headed to grab a bite to eat at Penn Station East Coast Subs.  Love their Philly Cheesesteak.  (And part of the meal's conversation was on beauty products to which I said I wash my face at night with whatever soap is at the sink aka hand soap, soft soap, etc.  Boy was I berated for that...but it works for me and it is, what it is.)

However, before leaving we did stop to capture some of Catherine's glorious landscaping and decor.

And coincidentally got mobbed by the papparazzi aka Judy Payne Sy.

Since Melissa and I are participating in a Photo A Day prompt....the day was titled "I Shop Here"

So I added names of all the shops my attire was accumulated.

After eating, we ventured out to Beauty Brands as I needed some shampoo/conditioner.  And low and behold......a CLEARANCE section.

And yes, you read that right.

Aside from the 65% off the shampoo, the other 5 bottles & OPI nail stickers were all $.98.

Total purchase $24.46. I saved $214.47

The day wasn't over as our goal was to see the movie "Frozen".  So we stopped by Dean & Deluca and grabbed a Shirley Temple soda & a huge rice krispie treat before heading to Stonecrest Cinemas.

Although the movie was good, it was not my favorite Disney cartoon. 

Probably the least favorite of the Princess movies.

The day ended with Melissa grabbing a cotton candy ....and listening to the Panthers game on the radio.

And then watching the Panthers lose...but what a streak they had.

FRACTURED ANGELICS: Journal - Work In Progress

Class has ended, but work is still yet to be done!

In Charlotte, I took an art class at Catherine Anderson Studio; hence I wanted to finish my journal created as part of Kate Thompson Fractured Angelics class.

Lots of old photos were printed out at a local shop to use as transfers.

(Note To Self:  Make sure to mirror the images before printing.)

I loved the mannequin photo I had on my initial album cover, but so wanted to use this image, the moment I saw it on Kate's Pinterest board.

So I transferred it onto another gessoed board.

Thanks to a handy tip Melissa shared about getting the "chalky" appearance off the picture,

the picture came alive.  TIP: Use Tar Gel and the image becomes so much clearer...

...and shiny.

Plus you can still cover the tar gel with paint & water color, etc.

I added some elements of Distressed Markers around her face prior to making more changes.

This gave it more dimension and shading aspects.

I finished my backcover by applying pastels and rubbing them in with my finger.  I love how subtle they are and embrace the mannequin transfer.  It is one of my favorite journal covers to date.

FRACTURED ANGELICS: Day 2

DAY 2 & MELISSA IS HERE!

So happy to have another friend join in the festivities of the art weekend.

Day 2 & 3 consisted of creating a fabric art journal with Kate Thompson; hence the first step is to prepare your pages.

The journal we did was an 6x8 booklet of artsy goodness.

And it didn't take long for us to start getting our hands nice and dirty.

This weekend was messy hands all day, and scrubbing hands all night :)

But so worth it for a enjoyable end result.

Kate has some great images for us to get inspiration and share. 

Her Pinterest board is also a fabulous visual find. 

I decided to use mannequins and some old ancenstry images I had at home. 

While we waited for the pages to dry, Kate delicately showed us how to create a beautiful flower using so many different mixed media elements.

As some pieces dried, we added elements to scrap pieces to add another layer to each page.

I have to admit the layers of fabric on each other, really gives it a Shabby Chic look & it is gorgeous.

The covers were made out of wood which we gessoed and transfered images on.  Some painted, some watercolored, it was whatever you desired to do. I went with a few of Kate's mannequin images.

Then we sorted through our materials to put together our first signature for the book.

I opted not to glue or hand sew on my elements, so waited until I got home to use my sewing machine.

However, I did manage to get one signature put together as did the rest of the class.

DAY 2 DOWN...ONE MORE TO GO!